first hiccups

Bennett had his first hiccups today.  I can not believe he slept right through them.  They are the cutest.

labor and delivery and Bennett

My little man finally arrived on January 26th, 2013 at 2:25Am at 7lbs. 11oz. and 19 and 3/4 inches long. We decided to name him Bennett Nicholas Schifferle even though Simon was out favorite for months. He just didn't look like a Simon.

My contractions started on Friday morning at 3:30Am. I wasn't sure that what was happening but just in case I got up and packed my bag for the hospital. And, since I could no longer sleep after the fact I stayed up cleaning and organizing. Meanwhile the contractions kept getting closer together but they were not very intense. Around 8:00Am they were only ten minutes apart so we called my doctor. The answering service took my call and by the time they called back my contraction subsided significantly. They were irregular and not very intense so my doctor told me to stay home and call back when things changed. Nick and I both called in anyway and spent the day watching Vampire Diaries. 

Just when I started thinking I was in false labor, the contractions intensified at around 6:00Pm. Nick and I started timing them around 10:00Pm and turns out they were 5 minutes apart and stayed that way for an hour and a half. We decided that meant we should get ourselves to the hospital. We arrived there at 11:30Pm and checked in to be examined. I am glad we made it there when we did because my contractions suddenly became painful. It was an hour later that an intern examined me and turns out I was 6cm dilated. I was taken into the labor and delivery room and the rest was a blur. The next hour and a half I experienced painful contractions until it was time to push at 2:00Am. I didn't want an epidural so I relied on Nick and the nurse in the room to keep me strong. They both did a great job coaching me to focus on the breathing through the contractions. That helped tremendously. It felt really good to finally start pushing because you were finally doing something about the pain now. And, actually pushing during a contraction took some of the pain of it away. I managed to push for 25 minutes and it took 7 pushes before he was out and we got to meet our son! It was nice to finally hold and see him. 

He is perfection. It took a while to get us labelled up with 3 bracelets each, a security tag on little Bennett and fully checked into the hospital. Finally we got transferred into our permanent room and settled in for a few hours of sleep. We kept Bennett in the room with us and he woke us up at 7:00Am. It was the most amazing experience in my life and the story of how I became a mom to a beautiful little boy. The next three days he sure loved to sleep.

We left the hospital on Monday. It was nerve wrecking and scary but we will get through it as a family. I love my boys.

week 37

So, last week I made it to the 37 week mark and according to my doctor I was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She thinks I am going to have the baby sooner than my due date. That is truly exciting news. I am so anxious to meet the baby that I am willing to be ok with that. Ideally I would want the baby to come to the 40 week mark but he is at a good weight and technically he is full term.

This week I am 38 weeks. My doctor did an internal test and I am now 3 to 3.5 cm dilated and pretty much 100% effaced. She told me to go back to work and keep up with my regular routine. Just in case things progress quickly I wrapped things up the best I could at work.  I am hoping to meet my little one real soon!

Hoping this is my last belly shot. I am huge.

the nursery

This weekend we worked hard on finishing the baby's room.  We are expecting him to join us very soon so we wanted everything to be perfect and ready.  I put up the decal in his room and the other decorations, such as pictures, toys and etc.  While Nick put up the curtains, the curtain rods, which we fashioned from tree branches we found in our back yard, the shelves and the mobile. I think he is going to like it here.

week 36

I am getting really close to my due date! I am going to see my doctor every week now. Last week she wanted to make sure the babies head was down so I went in for an ultrasound this Wednesday. I was very excited to see him again. His head is down and he is still a boy! He measured at 6.5 lbs and the nurse said he is going to be about 8 lbs by the due date. The baby is going to gain about a half a pound a week now. My amniotic fluid was at a good level and he had a heartbeat of 163. I think he was sucking his thumb at first because in his first profile picture it was close to his mouth. You can see his little nose and pursing lips in this profile pic of him inside the belly.

And, here is how he looks from the outside. I can't wait to meet my little man!