Chloe's First Days

I can't seem to find the time to type up anything so I thought that I'd just post some pictures for now and work on typing when I get a chance. Just consider Aggiefamily.net to be under construction for a while until things settle down around here. Thanks to everyone for their patience!

Follow this link to see the pictures of Chloe that were taken by GrowingFamily.com. Our last name is the password.





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Induction? We don't need no stinkin' induction!

Our little girl decided she didn't want to wait for an induction, but would rather rob her parents of one more night of good sleep. Kelly went into labor at 12:00am this morning. By 5:37am we had a new addition to the family. Chloe Kathryn weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces and is 20 inches long. Here are a few pics from our exciting day.

Chloe has more hair than her dad.

She has a few bruises on her face from the delivery.

A shot of the doctor, Dr. Watts, who keeps getting out of doing any real work. Dr. Spooner was on call when Kelly went into labor, so she is the one who handled the delivery.

A kiss from big brother.

Not the best family portrait in the world, but its all I've got. We'll try again once everyone has had more sleep.

Tomorrow's the Day!

TMI Alert: Read at your own risk!

I went for another appointment today and it looks like I'm dilated to a 4 and very effaced! I am so excited! I am five days past my due date for those of you who are keeping track. Dr. Watts said that she will just have to break my water tomorrow at my induction. We're scheduled to be there bright and early at 7:30. I was really glad to hear that because breaking my water is much better than starting Pitocin which is what she would have had to do if I hadn't progressed any more than I have in the past week. Maybe I will go into labor tonight on my own during the Aggie game. I know that I got excited enough on Saturday to almost go into labor. That was some game!

Either Lorne or I will be posting with news and pictures as soon as we can! Thanks for your continued prayers and phone calls!

Not Wanting to Drop

I had an appointment yesterday morning with Dr. Spooner since Dr. Watts is on vacation. Lorne and I waited TWO HOURS to see the doctor. After ten minutes the appointment was over. There has been no change and she still hasn't dropped all the way down. I was so frustrated and discouraged! I am trying so hard to be patient and let nature take its course. My next appointment is scheduled for next Thursday which seems forever away.

I'm so afraid that she won't be born by the 23rd and I'll have to be induced again. That will make me one day short of 41 weeks and that's the longest Dr. Watts wants me to carry her. That is the last thing that I want. I know that there is no way to know how another induction would go, and that's what worries me the most. I don't want to wait eight hours to hold this baby and eleven hours to nurse her. I don't want the fear that I've done something to put her health in danger. I want her enjoy her first few hours of life and not be afraid and scared.

I'm trying to stay active and go for walks. I went for two yesterday and Sawyer and I went to the park this morning. Let's hope that she will get in gear and drop soon.

Sawyer is Twenty-one Months Old!

Sawyer is so entertaining these days. He is trying to say "I love you," but it mostly comes out as "I la" which is just too cute! He likes to say "up/down" when he is playing with his Ramps Around Garage. He has apparently given up sleeping and napping for Lent. He gets out of his toddler bed, walks to his door, and says, "knock, knock, hello!" I guess that it's all downhill now that he knows he isn't trapped in a crib anymore. He doesn't just ask for cookies after dinner. He will say "cookie, woo hoo" like he thinks that he has to say the words all together.

He actually seemed to be posing for his Aggie Bear pictures this time. Not only that, but he would walk over and want to see the preview of the picture as it appeared on my digital camera. I grew up with pictures coming from film, but our kids will live in a world of the instant picture.

She's Headed South!

I had another appointment today and we got good news...she's head down! Yeah! I am so excited! We started discussing all of my options as far as C-section before she did the exam, so that was a waste of time since her head is down. She said that we're going to wait for "spontaneous labor" which sounds great to me! She said that I should get to the hospital when my contractions are ten minutes apart or when my water breaks. She said that I should still let them know that she just recently turned in case she goes back to being transverse. She is scheduling an induction for March 23 in case I don't go into labor before then. That will be one day before I'm 41 weeks which is the longest she said that I could safely go. That sounds fine with me because I just have a feeling that she will come on her own before then since I'm already dilated and effaced.

She did a quick sonogram to ensure that the head is down. She measured my amniotic fluid level and it has dropped from a twenty to eighteen and a half since Monday. She said that could be the difference in the machines since I was at the perinatologist on Monday, but chances are that's a good sign that labor is right around the corner. She said that number is considered "high end normal" and it shouldn't affect her dropping so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll keep everyone posted if and when anything happens!

Still Waiting for the Turn

I was very nervous about meeting with the perinatologist today. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for about ten minutes. Everything was fine with her heart rate. The next step was the ultrasound. Dr. Trimmer couldn't find anything to suggest that she couldn't turn on her own. The crazy thing is that she has flipped completely and her head is on my left side and her bottom is on my right. She is completely perpendicular. He estimated her weight at 7 lbs 10 ounces, but it could go one pound either way. That was what Sawyer's forty-week ultrasound showed as his weight. His birth weight was 6 pounds 15 ounces. I'm hoping since her weight is the same at thirty-eight weeks that she will be bigger than her brother. It appears that I have an abundance of amniotic fluid again just like I did with Sawyer, but once again he said that shouldn't hinder her being able to turn.

The one thing that we know for sure is that she's a girl. That was exciting to see definitively that we're having a girl. It makes me feel much better about washing all of the pink clothes in her closet! I also feel better about her cross-stitch that we had framed last week.

Dr. Trimmer is supposed to report his findings to Dr. Watts. I'm guessing that I will just have to wait for my regularly-scheduled appointment on Thursday to talk with her, but it would be nice to be able to get in sooner. I left a message today but haven't heard anything yet.

My doctor is going on vacation next week so that makes all of this more interesting too. I know that any OB could deliver my baby, but I would really like for it to be Dr. Watts. I'm leaning toward skipping the external version and waiting it out and scheduling a C-section for as late as I can possibly schedule one. That way I will know that I have given her as long as I can to let nature take its course. I feel like we took Sawyer before he was ready and I really don't want to feel that way again.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers, thoughts, e-mails, and phone calls. It means a lot to me to know that so many people care!

No Change

I had another prenatal appointment on Thursday. There has been no change because the baby girl is still oblique breech. Dr. Watts' office scheduled an ultrasound with a perinatologist for Monday. He is going to do a complete ultrasound and let us know if a version is possible or if I am going to have to have a C-section. With a version the baby is externally moved to a head down position. My main concern at this point is obviously the health and well-being of our baby. I am also nervous about her being born before she is ready. If we went with the version it would be at the hospital and I would be prepped for either an induction or a C-section. I am actually leaning more toward the C-section at this point just because the induction was such a scary experience last time. I just wish that I didn't have all weekend to think and worry about it all. My appointment is at 10:00 on Monday so hopefully we will know more after that.

I will keep everyone posted!