Journey to Baby R's birth

I waited and waited for our little one to come.  Now here I sit 3 weeks into the life of baby R and ready to tell our baby's birth story.   Oh, how amazing the journey has been so far.  Let's go back 4 weeks...
I couldn't believe that the due date came and went and still no baby.  My mom had been with me for two weeks before the birth and we all thought that Baby R would come early, even my midwife Lois.   As the days passed and my patience was wearing thin, I got more and more anxious for the birth.  We spent those days picnicing at Lake Nokomis on Memorial Day, traveling with my parents to dinners out at Tavern on France and a great pizza place by Nokomis, and of course, shopping for last minute nursery items.  On Saturday, May 28th after David's parents had just left our house and I was getting ready to take a shower to get the smell of bonfire off me, I thought my water broke.  We scrambled to get the hospital and Dave's parents returned to head to the hospital along with my parents.  (FYI: Grandpa Marc had travelled twice up the twin cities ready for the baby to born only to have to drive or take the bus back to Wisconsin when the baby didn't come).  After arriving at the hospital and having three tests done, we were told that it wasn't amniotic fluid and my water had not broken.  Momma had just peed on herself (it really felt like my water broke!).  So we returned home.  So sad and even more anxious, we spent the next five days sitting around the house, waiting.  Any little tinge and twitch, I was on edge wondering if you were ever going to come Baby R.  We visited our midwife on May 31st and set a induction date of June 8th.  I was happy to have a date but not happy about having to wait another whole week!
But then on the morning of June 2nd and five days after the due date, I woke up at 3am to go the bathroom. I felt a little tightening of my belly and then felt it again a few minutes later.  I couldn't go back to sleep.  I spent the rest of the night starring at Dave's alarm clock, counting the minutes between the tightening of my belly.  I really thought that  I was just having braxton hicks or false contractions.  After a false alarm to the hospital only days before, I wasn't about to rush there again.  And these pings did not hurt at all so I was convinced that I wasn't in labor.  The tightening went on all throughout the night at about 10 minutes between feelings.  As the morning approached and Dave got up to go to work, I mentioned to him that I think I was having contractions but would call him if I felt they were labor contractions during the day.  I spent the rest of the morning watching tv and recording each contraction and the minutes apart until the next one.  Nana was with me and she helped to record them. At about 10:30 my mom asked if she should leave to go the store or not. I told my mom that I wasn't in labor and she could go. I'll be fine!  Well as I recorded the minutes apart, I realized they were now about 6 or 7 minutes apart. Still they were not painful or anything.  My mom left to go the store.  Two hours later, I got up to go the bathroom (this was about 12:30pm) and as I stood up I heard a pop and a gush came out of me of fluid onto the carpet.  I still didn't know what it was (because the last time about the same thing happened).  I walked to the bathroom and as I moved, more and more fluid came out.  And then I had a little contraction and more came out.  I realized that this must be my water!  I called Dave and calmly told him that my water broke and that he needed to come home.  I then called my mom and told her to come back home.  Next I called Dave's parents and told them.  Finally, I called Karissa and told her.  I got things together at home and waited for my mom and Dave to come!  I was so calm, but so excited!  I think the most disgusting thing was the amniotic fluid coming out.  Every movement, contraction, or laugh, I would gush out more!  We made it to the hospital at 1:30 and went to the MAC to be evaluated.  I was on edge that this time they'd tell me the same thing.  But low and behold, they came back to say that it was my water and I was in labor.  At 3:00, I got my room and they began officially monitoring me and the baby.  They gave me my dose of antibiotics for my group strep b.  My family came in to visit and the fun began (not really)!  The pain began!  I was dialated at about 3 cm and had started to feel a little pain with the contractions.  Dave and I walked around the hospital, watched tv, played on the ipad, and chatted for a few hours.  At about 5pm, the real pain started and I was told I was already at 5 cm.  I used a tennis ball to squeeze through the pain or sat on the yoga ball.  Dave held my hand through each contraction.  At 6 o'clock, I was at about a 6.  My contractions were now only about 3 minutes apart and getting more painful.  I wanted to feel real labor and boy, was I!  At 6:30pm, I couldn't take it anymore and asked for the epideral.  Another patient was getting one, so I was going to have wait.  They checked me again and I was already at 7cm.  For about 30 minutes, my pain and my contractions got worse and now they were only about 1 minute apart.  Finally at 7pm, I got my epideral.  I had a tough time through it because as they were putting the needle in, I would have contraction upon contraction.  BUT 15 minutes later, I felt no pain!  I love epiderals!  However; I didn't listen well to the instructions about dosage.  I guess every 15 minutes the machine will administer a dose of medicine.  If I need more than that dose, I can press a button to get more.  Well I thought I had to press the button to get any dose of the medicine.  So I kept pressing the button every 15 minutes.  I was getting double dosage for the rest of the labor!  Oops! 
At about 9pm, they came to check me again and said I was at about a 8 almost 9 cm dialated.  My nurse told me it would be about 2 more hours till I push so hang in the there.  Well 30 minutes later, I felt a little pressure down there and told Dave to get the nurse.  Sure enough, she could see baby r!  We had bypassed the 2 hours and were ready to push!  With the epideral I could not feel anything!  I pushed so hard for the next 30 minutes that baby r came out very quickly.  We played our birth music, dimmed the lights, and called in the midwife.  We watched from a mirror as we saw the tuft of black hair and Baby R's little head making it's way out.  Both Dave and I watched on as I pushed out our first born baby.   They pulled out Baby R and before they could announce what sex our little one was, I saw that it was a boy!  Baby R took a moment, but then let out the most beautiful cry a mother could hear.  And then they laid him on my chest for the remainder of the labor.  Holding him for the first time was an experience I will never forgot as well as Dave seeing his son for the first time.  We both were in awe of our new son.  Dave cut the cord and we spent a long time just looking at our baby boy.  We both looked at eachother and I said, is he a Noah?  We agreed he was a Noah David.  Noah David was born at 10:13 pm, a little over 7 hours after being admitted into the hospital.  He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches long.  He scored a 9 on the apgar and was VERY healthy.  As he lay on my chest, we learned that I had lost quite a bit of blood (more the double what normal women lose).  1 whole liter, so there was almost 2 and a half hours of surgery to sew me back up.  BUT through it all, I couldn't feel a thing and held baby Noah in my arms the entire time except for the last 30 minutes when I finally handed him over to his daddy!  At about 1 am, we finally called our family in to let them know about baby r and meet their new grandchild.  Dave went out to get them and asked if they'd like to meet their new grandchild.  When they came in, we introduced their new grandson and nephew, Noah David.  Everyone agreed that he was so precious and adorable.  Each grandparent got to hold him and finally Karissa.  It was such a special moment!  Too bad we didn't get it on video.  But it is a moment none of us will forget.  Many pictures were taken and hugs, tears, and kisses were shared.  Welcome to the world Baby Noah!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives and on the outside!  What a blessed day!

The waiting is the hardest part...

So here we are, 3 days after the due date an still no Baby R. What's up with that little one? Perhaps you are all too comfortable in momma's belly? I get it, although I don't remember one day being in my mom's womb, it's all I knew and I was probably pretty comfortable in there too. Well, here's some words of encouragement to help "push" things around. You have an awesome mother and father ready to take care of and love you very much. You will have your own room, which your mom and dad spent countless hours of time planning every detail with your comfort in mind. You will indeed be the center of attention for a very long time and spoiled to no end. The way I see it little one, it's a win/win situation. So come on out baby R, the water's pretty nice out here too!

39 weeks and 4 days pregnant...and waiting

Maternity leave has entered its second week and Baby R is not here yet!   This week, Nana Isaacson came to stay with me keep me company on these long days of waiting.  All is ready including a clean house, freezer meals, bills paid in advance, and bags packed.   Baby R is still in the engaged position with about 2 cm dialated and 75% effaced.  My blood pressure is now in check and that makes me feel a lot better.   Dad came this weekend just in case but Baby R is not quite ready yet I guess.  It has been fun spending time with David's parents and my family this last two weeks.  They are as anxious as we are for this little one to arrive.  We spent time going to movies like Bridesmaids and a Will Ferrell movie.  We've spent time BBQing outside and having the Voyes over for dinner.  We've celebrated Grandpa Rothe's birthday and had lots of good times.  But I am getting VERY uncomfortable and so ready to meet this baby!  Lois, my midwife, seems to think I will not have to induced and this baby will come very soon.   I didn't realize how hard it is to have to wait.  You get your due date and think of that timeline, but not the waiting one.  The not knowing when is killing me!   This might be our last blog entry but hopefully Daddy Rothe will chime in with some comments next before the baby arrives...we'll see. 

Homeward Bound

Yea!  Maternity leave has officially begun!  Last Friday was my last day at Valley View and now I am getting all the things done that I need to before our bundle of joy arrives anytime now!  Dave and I now have the house cleaned, car cleaned, and car seat properly installed.  Each day I feel more and more at ease that we are ready for this baby.  Most people say we are over-ready but if you know me, I like things VERY ready.  Freezer meals have been made and scrapbooking ready to be done today!  So now we wait for our little boy or girl to come!  At my last appointment I was dilated to 1cm and 30% effaced.  Today I have an appointment at 3:40 and will update you as to where we are at now!  Hopefully my blood pressure has gone gone and my dilation/effacement has gone up!   I do have a terrible stuffy nose which I hope goes away before I go into labor.  Dave's mom and dad are now in town and it has been very nice to see them and spend some time with them!  They got to feel the baby move and that was really special!  It will be nice to have them here for the next two months!  My mom comes up on Thursday because she can't bear to not be here helping out!  So it looks like family time is headed my way!  It will be nice to have people to hang out with until Baby R decides to come!  David is getting a little nervous about the labor and when it will happen.  I am relatively calm relaxing and getting things taken care of around here.  I know that that too will pass and I may become anxious too as the days wear on.  My due date is less that two weeks away!!!

Mother's Day and last week of work

This weekend we celebrated Mother's Day by having my family up from Wisconsin.  I bought myself a fabulous purse like diaper bag that is so adorable!  A little pricey, but we made it my Mother's Day and birthday present!  My sister is moving back up to the cities so this was her moving back up weekend!  It is going to be nice to have her close to spend time with her new niece or nephew!  Dave and I spent the day on Saturday shopping for plants for our vegetable and fruit garden along with some perinnials for our flower garden.  It is looking beautiful, but boy was I tired after working in the garden all day!  So hot out and my ankles and calves ended up being huge!  Each day they seem to swell more.  Baby R is doesn't have much space in there anymore and the turns and twists are so sharp.  He or she is finally FULL term meaning that we can go anytime to the hospital.  I can't believe I have a little newborn size baby folded into my belly in a little ball..  I know it is normal, but I feel so bad for the little one being so crammed in there!   It is becoming more and more uncomfortable as I am sure it is for our little Baby R.  Mother's Day was very nice with
mom visiting.  Karissa, Mom, and I went and got pedicures on Sunday for mothers day and that was amazing!  It was nice to spend time with the family.  We had a mini birthday party for Papa David on Saturday night.  He got twins tickets to go with my dad and his sometime in June.  Daddy's birthday is in the same month as Baby R and hopefully they won't share a birthday!  I am not quite ready to have this little one yet with all the nesting and cleaning I still want to do!  In other news....I've reached the last week of work!  We had a work shower tonight where I got a convertible carseat for when Baby R is more than 22 pounds.  We are SO set with everything!  We've been blessed to have so many friends and family gift us so many wonderful things for our first baby!  I am very grateful!  Each day, we think about what our baby will look like and what they will be!  We are getting so close to finding out!  Took our breastfeeding class on monday night and learned alot.  Tonight we got to meet all the midwives in our group and we feel so much more relaxed about the delivery.  David is feeling much more calm about knowing where to go when we do come to the hospital.  Now all we do is wait!  We can't help but feel nervous and excited at the same time for our little one!  18 days and counting till the due date!

So much to do, so little time!

Baby R is losing more and more room in belly these days.  I feel lots of rolls, turns, and elbows moving across my belly!  It is still an amazing feeling and each day I keep thinking that soon I won't feel him or her moving inside me because our little one will be in our arms as an outside baby!  So surreal!  We've gotten a lot done by finding our pediatrician, finishing our registry shopping, and purchasing the travel system.  We have sold lots of things on craigslist and ebay to get rid of the clutter and make room for baby gear.  We still need to officially pack the hospital bag but we've got that started as well as our birth plan and birth labor music.  So much to do and so little time.  We bought the coming home outfits together last weekend.  So adorable! One for a girl and one for a boy!  Only Baby R knows which one we'll be bringing to the her or him home in!  So crazy that our baby knows and we don't!  We've got to clean the whole house and freeze some meals, but the major thing is signing with a daycare!  Yes, we are still searching and I might be having to stay home if we don't find a good one.  We can't just put baby r anywhere can we?  And the list of to do's goes on with the actual sub plans and maternity leave information.  I am 9 days out from taking my leave and yet, I am so concerned with all that needs to be done.  I know the minute I walk out of Valley View I will feel a sense of relief and look ahead to all that is coming our way!  I know my feet will thank me for it.   I am now going to the doctor once a week and recently found out I am Group Strep B positive so I will have to be on antibotics immediately when I get to the hospital for labor.  Don't want the baby to get sick so that means no laboring at home, just heading right into L & D.  My bladder is getting a work out as baby R has dropped and I feel huge!  Just when I've gone to the bathroom, I feel like I have to go again!  The amount that I complain doesn't even measure the amount of joy and excitement that I am feeling to meet our baby if you can believe that!  Being pregnant is a joy and also alot of work.  BUT I am so thankful to be pregnant and so overjoyed to be having a baby with my husband and best friend.  Each day I reflect and make time to really take in all the feelings that I am having about becoming a mom and holding our baby for first time.  I know it will be an overwhelming moment when David and I see our child for the first time.  A little person that shares a part of both of us and joins us together even closer as a family.  And to share that with our family will also be incredible emotional.   In just a week, David's parents will be here to take in the moment also and then my parents and Karissa will be up to share in the celebration.  I cannot wait to meet you Baby Rothe.  Only 25 days until your due date but who knows when you'll arrive!   It is definitely on your own time!  So much to do still and so little time!  We'll have to be ready though no matter what!

Pantyhose and pregnancy

Oh how I hate pantyhose.  Why?  Because when you are as white as I am and you're starting to get spider veins, yes...that's what I said! I have no choice but to cover those legs up when I want to be comfy in a dress or skirt.  So the intial reason for wearing loose clothing like a dress is to be comfortable but then I have to go and wear pantyhose that constrict me and make me itch!  I even went out and bought expensive maternity hose that go up and over your belly.  Did that help?  Well if it did, I probably wouldn't be writing this much in my blog about it! 
Beyond the pantyhose though, this has been a good last few weeks.  I got to really see the little one's hands/feet/butt move across my belly.  I can tell that she or he has less room in there though because the kicks aren't as harsh but more of a roll or twisting feeling in my belly.  It is crazy to think we only have 6 weeks left till we can meet and find out what sex this baby is.  So exciting!
Dave and I made a trip to the BRU (babies r us for those without babies) to complete our registry.  We got the major items and some fun things too like picture frames and books.  Then we went to target to pick up our cubbie bookshelf.  Complete with monkey and frog fabric bins!  It looks great in the nursery.  Dave has been busy putting together all the wonderful toys, activity centers, bouncers, and swings that we got at our showers.   We are realizing that baby toys take more and more batteries than we thought they would.  Missing the days when we got free batteries from my dad!  We have also starting nesting!  To do lists and lots of overwhelming stress has hit me over the last few weeks and I really want this place to be spotless and organizer before our baby comes!  Time capsules, scrapbooking, putting photos in albums, searching for daycare still,  and going to check out pediatricians will consume the next few weeks.  Dave found a great site for what to pack for the hospital and asked me what his job was for sure and what we need to be doing.  I think I realizing more and more for him, his fear is actually getting to hospital and finding the right floor, in addition to the whole labor process.  For me, I am really not stressed or worried about that!  This baby is coming out no matter what and how it happens is not in my hands!  It is pretty sweet how he is organizing, helping, and keeping me calm.  Despite the fact that I yell at him almost everyday for something that is really not important.  He is a great husband and will be an incredible papa.
This last weekend my sister and cousin Donna threw me a fantastic shower complete with onesie decorating, amazing food (homemade pretzels, fruit kabobs, cupcakes, meatballs....)  and fun games.  Some dear and wonderful family and friends came by to celebrate Baby R's soon to be arrival and I realized how lucky I was to have those people in my life!  My childhood friend, Jessica, came also!  We grew up together in Platteville and were best friends from Kindergarten till we were in high school.  We lost touch and came to find a few years ago that we both were living in Minneapolis.  And now we are both pregnant together!  So wonderful!  All my guests were so great!  I am really blessed to have such dear and supportive people in my life!  I hope that my sister Karissa and cousin Donna know how much I appreciated all the work they put into the shower.  It was a day to remember!  Having my parents and sister visit is always nice too! 
Today I had a procedure to remove a mole on my back.  I am getting more relaxed on the anxiety and worry of this and realize that when a doctor says that it is ok, I should not worry!  It only took me about 9 months to get over the irrational fear as a first time pregnant women. 
As I look out on the snow falling in the middle of April, it is hard to think that this is technically springtime.  With spring comes new life and babies in all of nature!  And I am more than ever looking forward to May coming and finally getting to hold Baby R in my arms. Not to mention no more snow!