She's Here!

On Monday I started having cramping and lower back pain, so I kept track of what was going on during the day, but nothing was overly consistent. By that night things were starting to get more regular (8-10 mins apart) and so I called labor and delivery. The nurse that answered told me to drink 3 large glasses of water and then lay on my side and see if things subsided. Well they didn't and after an hour my contractions were only 5 minutes apart. So I called back and told them the results of the "test" and they told me to come on in and they would check to see what was going on. Jeff and I left the house at midnight and arrived at labor and delivery sometime just after 1AM on 1/27/09. They hooked me up to monitors and saw that I was contracting about every 3-5 minutes and by 2:45AM my water broke!

I was able to handle the contractions pretty well until 6:30AM when I asked for an epidural. Danica was in the birth canal backwards so her head and spine were rubbing against my spinal cord, causing INTENSE pain. Once the epidural was in place, my contractions started to become less frequent, so they also gave me pitocin to make me contract more. Contractions came back to 2-3 minutes apart. They weren't able to keep checking my cervix to see how it was dialating because I was group B positive and they didn't want to pass anything to the baby.

My parents showed up at around 2:30PM to see us in the birthing room, so we visited for a while and then they were going to go wait in the waiting room. When a new nurse checked on for the day, she decided to check my cervix just to say where things were at...and she said something like "oh my look at this!" Apparently there was an extra layer to the amniotic sac and it was bulging out and just behind that layer was the baby's head! She said this baby is coming a lot sooner than you thought. They quickly paged my doctor and then had me push once to get things going. Since the baby was still head forward, they let her turn around on her own after I pushed once. I waited through one contraction, then the doctor showed up just in time. I pushed twice on the next contraction and she was out! :) There was a little issue with the umbilical cord, it was wrapped around her and her neck, but the doctor was able to quickly resolve the isssue, luckily, since everything happened quickly during delivery! :)

So at 3:40AM our baby girl, Danica Jean Myers was born. She was 7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. The new Mom and Dad are very proud of their little girl. Grandma and Grandpa Ide were able to see her almost immediatlely, when Jeff brought her to the nursery to get cleaned up, weighed and measured. It was a great day and we are still enjoying her very much.

Right now we are still in the hospital and plan on going home tomorrow. Grandma and Grandpa Myers are here right now to see the new addition to the family.

I'll post some pictures now...

Due Date (1/25/09)

Just an update...today is our due date and as of now there is no tell tale sign that today is the day the baby has picked out. I thought I should let you all know that we are at home and (for now) still waiting.

Parshall for the weekend? (1/23/08)

Yesterday the wind starting blowing pretty good while I was at work, so Jeff and I decided to stay in town with Bryan for the night (or possibly longer). Jeff is going to check on the road conditions heading toward our house to see if we can make it there or if we should stay in town until the roads get plowed.

There isn't much time now until my due date (this Sunday) so I have chosen to take an extra few days of maternity leave so that I have some time to put my feet up before labor and delivery and maybe get caught up on things we've had to put to the side since we've been away from home so much. I haven't been sleeping well for quite a while now, which makes it hard to get up in the morning and go to work, plus driving on the snowfilled roads and in the bitter cold...I've pretty much had my share of that and just want some time to kick back before we welcome the baby into the world. So wish me luck on these next few days in hopes that I go into labor naturally and don't have to be induced next week. :)

I have another appointment this next Tuesday (if I haven't already delivered) in case I forgot to mention that in my previous post.

Prenatal Appointment #8 (1/20/08)

We're getting closer...only 5 days now until our due date!

At the appointment today, the doctor checked my iron levels, fundal height and baby's hearbeat and everything was as it should be. The heartbeat sounded different this time and he said that it was due to where the doppler was picking up the sound. Normally it has sounded like a constant whoosh-whoosh, but this time it sounded like it had an echo or something and that was because it detected the heartbeat in a valve so you could also hear that opening and closing. At first it was at 150bpm then slowed to 130. It was faster at first because the doctor had just checked to see what position he/she is in, so he/she was still busy moving around at first. Baby Myers is still in the "ready position" (head down). All this would make you think the baby is ready, but so far he/she is still keeping Mom and Dad in suspense! :)

My co-workers have made bets on when I will have the baby, the gender, weight, length, etc. and I also put in my guess. Today was the day I guessed I would have the baby, but we're running short on time here. Apparently I'm not a very good guesser! :)

Our next appointment has been scheduled for January 27th, but hopefully we won't go over our due date and that one won't be necessary. :D

Ahhh...Home Sweet Minot (1/16/09)

Jeff and I are in Minot again, staying
at a hotel for the night and we will probably stay with friends tomorrow. Jeff checked on the road conditions after receiving a message from his parents that things were getting messy outside with all the blowing and drifting snow. He came back home and said "We better get to Minot". So we packed things up and headed out a little after 10PM and arrived in Minot just before midnight. The gravel roads were absolutely awful, the wind was blowing so hard that it had drifted in everything the plow had managed to open today, so our road was open for a few hours this week! LOL (just kidding about the LOL...it's not funny anymore) The blowing snow and drifted snow flying up at the windshield as we drove certainly didn't help us see the road, it was absolute craziness and since Jeff was driving, my job was to panic I guess...I think I've left more imprints in the handles of the truck! I took some pictures this morning at our house of the snow before Jeff snowblowed the yard. I'll have to see if I can get them online soon. I'm just thinking now...8 more days, maybe our baby wants to come just a little early while we are here in town? Please. :)

















I thought I should post a picture of
Uncle Missy since we feel bad that we've had to leave her at home alone so much lately. Poor kitty.

Prenatal Appointment #8 (1/13/08)

Let me start off by saying how interesting this past week has been. Jeff and I are becoming regulars at the Days Inn of Minot! We were blocked in by snow at our house yesterday, leaving me unable to go to work. Jeff cleared out the yard with the snowblower, but the roads are insane, they haven't been plowed for quite a while and the wind and snow just keep on coming. We finally decided we would have to get out before it got worse (since there was more snow in the forecast), either for the appointment or for the chance that the baby decided it was the right time to be born. So we drove 10 miles of unplowed gravel roads in order to get to the highway, but we made it. There were a number of spots that were practically impassable even with the truck as we almost went in the ditch. Jeff explained that it's because the wheel wells fill up with snow, making it impossible to steer, but I was just thankful that we made it and that I could remove my fingers from their firm grasp on the console and door handle. I'm going to have to take some pictures of this, just so the baby can see what this winter was like! :) We are staying in Minot again tonight since it is snowing like crazy and visibility in town is even down to about a 1/2 mile and of course it's WINDY! Tomorrow morning we are planning on taking off for Parshall so I can go to work and will probably end up spending the night in town until our roads are clear to go home. Our poor cat is probably completely freaked, she's been spending a lot of time alone. We also haven't gotten our mail now since the beginning of last week sometime. :(

Now for the baby news...The appointment went well, the baby's heartrate is at 130bpm and the fundal height is right on target for 38 weeks. The doctor gave us the "go ahead" to have the baby any time now, which was great news. It's so exciting to know that we are so close! He also had us set up an induction date in case the baby doesn't cooperate with the exit procedure. LOL The induction is schedule for January 29th, but hopefully we don't have to go through that and baby decides sooner is better. :) My next appointment is scheduled for January 20th...I finally got a "one weeker" appointment. Yay! Most people at my stage in pregnancy have been on one week appointments since late December, so I'm glad my doctor finally decided it was time.

I guess that's all the news I have for now. Post ya later.

38 Weeks (1/11/08)

Today I am 38 weeks! We were able to make it back home from Minot tonight, the roads were still okay for the truck. We're getting more snow and blizzard conditions tonight, so we'll see what the wind does to our roads tonight and tomorrow morning. Not sure I'll be able to make it to work, but I will definately wait until daylight before I make any attempt.

I've posted a couple more pictures of our baby bump that were taken tonight. I can't help myself, it's getting so close now I want to make sure that we have the most recent pictures that we can before delivery. :D

Last week Jeff ordered a new digital camera for me that I've had my eyes on for quite a few months, the Canon Rebel Xsi. We should get some excellent pictures of the baby, family, friends and wildlife now. I love taking pictures, so I'm very excited about this! I think Jeff's going to confiscate my current digital camera for his version of "wildlife pictures" (aka hunting pictures). :)

I guess that's all I know for now, but I'm sure I'll be posting again after the doctor appointment this Tuesday.

P.S. - Jeff calls the second picture "Hiding the Outie". I don't have an outie!

Childbirth Education Classes (1/9/08-1/10/08)

Jeff and I attended Childbirth Education Classes this weekend where we learned about what to expect in labor & delivery, the labor process, methods of pain management including breathing and relaxation exercises as well as medication options. Toward the end of the class they also touched on newborn care. We got all sorts of handouts that we'll have to look at when we get back home. All in all I would say it was a good thing for us to do, since we at least know what to expect now.

As of now we are still in Minot. We drove up here on Thursday to avoid the bad weather that was on its way that night. Minot ended up getting about a foot of snow. We will be heading home tomorrow and hopefully the roads will be cleared so that we can make it to our house. From what we are seeing on TV and the internet, there is a blizzard expected tomorrow night!
:( I'm getting VERY nervous about not being able to make it to the hospital when we need to. Wish we could just stay here until the baby is born.

Officially Full Term!

Today I am 37 weeks, which is considered full term! So it would be safe for the baby to be born at this point...exciting!

Yesterday we saw our newest nephew, Wyatt, who was born to Jon & Sara Myers about a month ago. He sure is a cutie!

The weather out here has not been great. It's been downright COLD, our ditches are full of snow, the wind just keeps blowing, and the plows rarely come by. Our drive to Gene & Eva's yesterday to see Wyatt was not a fun one, and the drive back was even worse. The drifts are so high that they fill up the wheel wells of our truck making it impossible to steer and we almost ended up in the ditch because we couldn't tell where the road was! Traveling to and from work is also becoming problematic and frightening for me. I didn't want to stop working before my due date, but at this point I'm not sure if I'm going to have a choice, it's just getting too dangerous. If we have more storms in the forecast, I think Jeff and I are going to go to Minot to wait it out there, just in case that's when the baby decides would be the perfect time to be born. Neither Jeff or myself are up for a home delivery!!!

Aside from the weather, everything is going good. We have our rescheduled childbirth class this Friday and Saturday in Minot and our next prenatal appointment is on the 13th. :)