Our Pregnancy Page

Countdown to baby #2!

This was our one month of charting:

And after a whole one month, we're expecting!

Here's where we are today:

12/28/04: Appointment with our primary care provider, Dr. Cook.

1/6/05: First prenatal appointment with Suzee, our midwife who delivered William.

2/8/05: Prenatal appointment with Dr. George, a new OB at the practice.  The baby's heartrate was 194, but we had trouble actually hearing it on the Doppler, so she did an impromptu ultrasound.  The baby was jumping all around, and Dr. George said everything looked great!  

3/11/05: 17 weeks today.  Third prenatal appointment (with Suzee again): Baby was playing hide and go seek with the doppler monitor today, but Suzee found him/her floating around at the way top of my uterus and clocked in at 150 beats per minute.  I've gained one net pound so far from my pre-pregnancy weight, which I was happy about.  Our ultrasound was scheduled.

3/28/05: Screening ultrasound with Dr. Willis, the fetus doctor guy (I forgot the term for his specialization).  The baby looks great, no apparent problems (at least as far as an ultrasound can tell), size and measurements were all good.  Dr. Willis estimated the due date at 8/16, but we're sticking with 8/19.  Check out baby's first photo shoot (and note gender!):

4/11/05: Prenatal appointment with new midwife, Rachel.  All is well with the baby, nothing exciting today.  Still have only gained a couple of pounds, but I just got over a stomach virus.

5/11/05: Prenatal appointment with Miriam.  The headaches seem to have subsided, and I'm finally gaining weight.  

Sometime during this month we met with our doula, Melissa, for the first time.  She'll be a great addition to our childbirth team.

6/14/05: Prenatal appointment with Abby, one of my midwives. I've gained about fifteen pounds now, right on target.  The baby was very active and his heartrate was 150. 

6/16/05: Tried some maternity self-portraits.  You can view them here.

6/30/05: Roy's birthday and prenatal appointment with Rachel.  Baby's doing fine, with a 140 heartrate.  He's very active and I can feel his little legs at the top of my belly.  Sometimes I feel a rolling sensation as he rolls over from left to right (he's head down now).  Bad news is that I'm dilated 2cm and effaced 40%.  Rachel sent me to the hospital to get monitored for contractions.  Thank goodness there were none.  She put me on bedrest, and I'm to return next Thursday to see her.  We had to cancel our trip to see Mom and Dad this weekend.  I'm only 33 weeks, so I need this baby to stay put for a while!

7/2/05: Just getting really bored with bedrest!  I feel so useless, and William doesn't seem to understand why Mommy won't get up.  Roy has been wonderful, stepping right in and taking over my usual responsibilities.  Four more days until I go back to the doctor's office; hopefully there has been no change.

7/6/05: Prenatal appointment with Miriam.  Good news is that Grant is still doing fine, very active with a great heartrate (140).  Bad news is that I'm now dilated 3 cm and 90% effaced.  What that means is that I am on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy.  It is difficult, but I can handle it if it means giving my little boy a little extra "cooking" time.  I want him to have the best start possible.  William is adjusting a little better to the bedrest.  He always knows where to find mommy now - on the couch!  He's also bonding with his daddy a lot more, which I guess is good practice for when the baby does come.  I cheated a little yesterday on the bedrest and took some maternity photos, since this will likely be the last time I get to take them before the baby comes.  You can view my 34 week maternity photos here. 

7/18/05: Prenatal appointment with Suzee.  Good news is that I'm 2-3 cm and 80% now, so the bedrest has paid off!  I have been given the okay to move around a little bit more, although I should still take it easy.  My mood is already much better since I have been able to leave the house a little bit.  Bad news is that my Group B Strep test came back positive, meaning that IV antibiotics are recommended for me during labor.  That part was disappointing, and although the research I've read does not show much evidence that the antibiotics do more good than harm, I think I will go ahead and accept the IV.  If the baby has not come by the end of next week, I will most likely go back to work until he does decide to show up.  I'm so pleased we've made it this far.  I can tell that my belly is significantly bigger than it was when I first went on bedrest, which means that he's gotten a lot bigger, and I'd much rather him get bigger in my tummy than in a plastic box in the hospital with tubes attached!  Next appointment is July 29.

7/22/05: I made it to 36 weeks!  My belly is bigger, and so baby is bigger, and I'm happy.  Here are this week's maternity photos.

7/29/05: I'm full term!  Had an appointment with midwife Miriam today.  I'm 4.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced, which is fine now since the baby isn't in danger of being born premature.  It looks like I'm going to do exactly what I did with William - keep dilating with no other symptoms until I either go into labor or I throw in the towel and have them break my water!  For now, though, I'm still very much pregnant.  The pre-labor contractions are more frequent and a little more noticeable now, but there is no pattern to them or anything yet.  

8/2/05: 37 weeks and 4 days today.  No signs of labor, but I'm kind of feeling guilty because everyone has been expecting this baby to come any day and now it looks like I'm going to go a little bit longer!  Theoretically, I could even go another month since my midwives will let me go to about 42 weeks before they recommend induction.  I doubt that will be the case for me, since I'm already halfway dilated, but it's a possibility I will have to keep in mind.  I feel ready to have the baby.  I told my mom I'm already in love with this little boy.  I love feeling his little kicks and squirms.  Everything is prepared for him at the house, my bag is packed, my carseat is installed, now it's up to him I guess!  I hope that my labor and delivery go as well as it did with William.  

8/5/05: 38 weeks today and still pregnant!  Here are this week's maternity self-portraits.

8/8/05: Saw Abby today and am 6-7 cm dilated.  

8/11/05: Grant is born!  Here is his birth story:

On Wednesday evening, I used the breast pump to stimulate labor for about 10 minutes on each side intermittently over about a two-hour period of time, ending around 7:00 PM on Wednesday, August 10.  My cervix was ripe, I just felt I needed a little stimulation to produce the oxytocin I needed to go into labor.  The breast pump produced the high, tight, painless Braxton-Hicks type of contractions I had been feeling for weeks, but nothing that seemed productive.  I figured it didn’t work and went to bed with William around 9.  We didn’t fall asleep until about 10:30, and I awoke around 11PM with a low crampy feeling that came every five minutes or so and lasted around a minute.  It was still a very vague feeling, so I decided to go back to sleep.  The contractions woke me up around midnight, so I just paid attention to them for a while.  I decided to get out of bed at 1:00 AM to study them a bit more.  As I got up, Roy asked where I was going and I told him I couldn’t sleep, that we may be in labor, but don’t get up yet because I don’t know.  

I went downstairs and to the bathroom and noticed that I was spotting.  I knew then that I was truly in labor and called the midwife around 1:15 AM.  Because I had been 6-7 cm and 80% at the midwife appointment on Monday, and because I was Group B Strep positive, she encouraged me to come into the birthing center whenever I was ready.  I called Shannon to come stay with William, and then called Melissa, our doula.  I told Roy that we were in labor and to go ahead and take a shower or whatever he wanted to do while I finished packing our hospital bag and writing out instructions for Shannon about William’s militant morning ritual.  Shannon and her son Andrew arrived within about 15 minutes from way across town, and Roy woke William up so that we could explain why mommy and daddy were leaving and so I could cuddle with him before I left.  Melissa arrived shortly after that, and by that time the contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart.  Knowing how fast I went with William, I decided to go on to the hospital and not labor much longer at home.  I kissed William goodbye and Melissa followed us to the hospital.  On the drive over there, Roy had an itch on his back and asked me to scratch it.  I said, “Honey, you know I’m in labor right?” but I scratched his itch anyway. 

I was admitted without going to triage first.  Rachel, the midwife on call that night, checked me around 2:45 and called me at 8 cm and 80-90% effaced.  She didn’t seem convinced that I was in true labor, however, because I was still talking through contractions.  I found that puzzling, because I knew I definitely was in labor, but she said that we should go ahead and start my penicillin IV since I was Group B Strep positive and see what happens.  I was not in favor of the IV, but I had thought about it a lot before going into labor and had decided to consent to it.  The IV was started at 3:15 AM.  Roy, Melissa and I sat there in the dark talking about the local school system, juvenile delinquents, and all sorts of topics.  I encouraged Roy to get a little bit of sleep, and I took a long walk with Melissa around the birthing center.  I labored on the birthing ball, in the bed, and walking around the room.  My blood sugar felt low, so the nurses brought me peanut butter, crackers, and milk.  By about 4:00 AM, I could not talk through the contractions but was fine in between.  Melissa was awesome at coaching me through them.  Roy was very supportive and watched over me in that protective husband sort of way. 

Rachel came in somewhere around 5:00 AM and I told her I wanted to try to rest between contractions for a while to build up some strength.  Around 7:00, I asked Rachel to check me again because I felt I had made progress and wanted to know where I stood.  I was 9.5 cm and 100% effaced, so I asked her to go ahead and break my water and give me the second IV of penicillin that they wanted me to have to protect the baby against Group B Strep.  Knowing what I know now about what happens after the water breaks, I considered that a very brave decision on my part!  It was like asking someone to beat me over the head with a baseball bat.  

Rachel broke my water around 7:15 and I got into the tub.  Transition hit and Rachel asked me what I wanted to do since I was in the tub.  Initially I told her I wanted to have the baby in the tub, but Roy wasn’t in favor of it because he couldn’t be near me.  I was pretty ambivalent about it at that point so I honored my husband’s wish and got out between contractions.  I got into the bed around 7:45, still wet from the tub, and started feeling the urge to push.  I let my contractions do most of the pushing.  I pushed for about 20 minutes, around five pushes in all.  Grant Middleton Etheridge was born at 8:07 AM on August 11, 2005.  I had forgotten that enormous sense of relief when the baby comes out, and Grant came out head to toe in one final push, with no pain medicine!  

Rachel put him on my chest and I remember how warm and wet and brand new he felt.  His cry was so sweet and tiny.  I guessed his weight at 7 and a half pounds, but we didn’t weigh him for a while.  Roy and I both cried like babies as we inspected our new son.  Melissa took photos and I think I saw tears in her eyes too.  Rachel waited until the cord stopped pulsating and then cut it after offering everyone else in the room the opportunity to do it.  It just wasn’t an important ritual to Roy and me.  The placenta delivery was a breeze, and we inspected that too.  Roy held our baby while Rachel stitched up a small tear, and then I nursed him around 8:45.  He latched on right away and has not stopped!  He was awake all night during labor and did not fall asleep after his birth until probably noon.  He is just a very alert, happy baby who hasn’t yet found his lungs… he squeaks like a monkey! 

Daddy brought William up to meet his new baby brother around 4:00 PM on the same day Grant was born.  He wore the big brother t-shirt that his mommy made him, and he got to open presents from the baby.  It took him a few minutes to warm up to the baby and what was going on, but now he wants to touch and hold the baby all the time.  He’s been really great so far and loves his baby brother.

 I never let Grant out of my sight while we were in the hospital.  Every assessment was done with him in my arms or right next to me, and even the pediatrician did his assessment in my room.  I declined the routine baby bath, and of course I left my son as God gave him to me… uncircumcised.  I also declined the “mandatory” baby care class and the hospital photo of baby, since I would have had to let them take him away for it.  The hospital was generally very good about following my birth plan, but I was also polite when they did challenge me on it.  Everyone thought it was funny that I had “double portions on meals” on my birth plan, but I was serious!  I ate everything I could get my hands on while I was there.  

I left the hospital a day early because I felt fine, the baby was fine, and I needed to get home to my family!  We went out to breakfast as a family on Saturday morning, then Grant had to go get his PKU test back at the hospital, and my milk came in that day too.  

We are now a happy, complete family of four!

BIRTH PHOTOS

The big brother's birthday ticker: