We finally made it!! Well, HE finally made it. Abram Quinn Smith was born on November 17th, 2010 at 2:57pm. To continue with the cliche (but important) information: he was 6 lbs 14 oz. and measured 20.25 inches. All those in-utero, motivational speeches I gave him about being early actually paid off.
To make a long story... semi-short (but not really):
We had out 38 week visit with the doctor on Tuesday, the 16th. At that point, he agreed that by 39 weeks I would be ready enough to induce labor, which I immediately and excitedly agreed to. In my mind, it was perfect. He would be early AND planned. And I sure love both of those things! But Abram (and more accurately: GOD), were about to prove to me that my timing is not perfect, while His absolutely is. God's, that is. Not necessarily the Babram's.
Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at 1:30ish, I woke up to a gush of fluid and ran to the bathroom yelling at Quinn that my water broke. He jumped out of bed faster and more awake that ever in his life and began clothing himself and collecting items for our hospital bag. I wasn't having contractions yet, so we were able to take a little bit of time and make sure that we had everything that we thought we needed, which was great.
By the time we got to the hospital and checked in at around 2:30am, I was having slight contractions, fairly close together. But I was only 2 cm dilated. Over the next 5 hours or so, my contractions got to the point that I was ready for my epidural. I figured I was going to get one regardless, so why wait for the contractions to KILL me before getting it. I was at about a 7 on the pain scale, doing the classic bed gripping, high pitched squealing, slight whimper thing every minute or two with each contraction. So I figured: Why not. By this point, I was about 4 cm dilated.
Getting the epidural at that point was the best decision I made. I went through enough of the labor to know that it hurt and people who did it without drugs must be super human. However, the majority of the next six or so hours were spent in relative comfort with Quinn and I talking and resting and joking and all that jazz.
This is me around 3am. Checked in, beginning to contract, still smiling for the camera.
This is Quinn around the same time.
Around noon, I started to feel pressure pretty low and the nurse checked to find and I was 8 cm and fully effaced. She also discovered that Abram was already pretty low and that if they left me alone for a few hours, he would work his way down by himself and the actual delivery would probably be easier.
This is exactly what happened. My doctor came in to check on us around 1:30 and I was fully dilated, but they left me until about 2:30. When we finally got set up to push, they were all convinced that he was going to come quickly. And with in five contractions worth of pushing and about 20 minutes, we had a Babram!
The moment that they set his little gray body with his little cone-shaped head on my chest, I thought, "That huge thing was inside of ME??!!" He seemed so big when he was out compared to when he was balled up in my abdomen. He let out a few little cries, but was really calm for the most part. I tried to watch as Quinn stood with him at the warmer and they weighed him, etc and had a hard time not crying as I watched my husband suddenly become a dad.
These are pictures Quinn took of Abram right after his cleaning, warming, and weighing. I like this one because it's like he's thinking: "Hmmm... did I get lost? Maybe I should have stopped and asked for directions..."
Unfortunate immediate newborn picture. I don't think I've ever seen a newborn that looks "cute" minutes after they are squeezed out of the birth canal. Our son was no exception. He got progressively cuter as his face regained it's original and intended shape.
All wrapped up and ready to go to mom! I waited for what seemed like an eternity to get stitched up and finally got to hold him for the first time.
This is our OB, Dr. Seeker. We switched to him around week 28 of the pregnancy and it was such a blessing. He is the sweetest, most attentive, encouraging and knowledgeable man. He was almost as excited as we were to meet Abram.
Abram had a few visitors while we were in the hospital. We got pictures of some of them, but unfortunately, not all of them. His first visitors were his Aunt Liesl and Uncle Eric, who drove all the way up from San Antonio as soon they found out he was here.
Uncle and Aunt Doctors Major and Captain Eric and Liesl Grenier (that's their official title).
Our friend, Riley, and his girlfriend, Sarah.
On Friday afternoon we got to take the Babram home. We were so glad to get home, but a little worried about how we were going to fare on our own. We didn't have any family that was going to be coming until Thanksgiving week. It proved to be more difficult than we anticipated. Quinn got flu symptoms for a day, but started feeling a little better the next. This means it is probably a viral infection (still no good for the baby). So he's had to "suit up" every time he holds the baby. I can barely sit down or walk because of the recovery from the delivery. Between the two of us, we've some how made it work and the baby is still alive and clothed and (hopefully) well fed. He's had a couple of people come visit him at home:
Shanda Chesnut, my teacher friend from Hendrickson. She is having her own little Baby Nut in about 5 months!
...And she couldn't stay away. So she came back with our other teacher friend, Angela Kidd. Abram loved them; proven by the fact that he slept contentedly in their arms, being passed back and forth, and never showing them his (currently) baby blues.
We have been, literally, living in our living room since we came home from the hospital. Because of Quinn's sickness we have been worried about us all sleeping in the same room. So, Abes and I have been sleeping in the living room, where we drug the changing table and all other necessary baby items. He is currently sleeping in a makeshift bassinet - which is a storage basket from under our coffee table with a memory foam pillow shoved in the bottom. Since he doesn't roll or move and prefers to be swaddled when he sleeps, this is working out fantastically for now. I hope this doesn't make us sound like bad parents, but we've only been at it for a week, so cut us some slack. We are hoping to move back into our own room tomorrow after all of the sheets have been washed and the cleanliness restored.
This is our living room.
I made this hat for him a few months ago and have been anticipating the day that I would be able to see if it fit him . It is actually a perfect fit! We took him to his first pediatrician appointment in it and got a ton of compliments and a: "You made this?! How did you know what size his head would be?" This would normally be a mundane question, but when it came from the actual pediatrician, I couldn't help but think: "Lady, you're the one who sees newborns all day long. Do their heads really vary in size so much that it would seem like such a big deal that I made a hat that fit a newborn?" But I kept that comment to myself. Plus, she was a really good doctor, otherwise.
Abram strapped in for his first outing. We went to Target to get some clothes that actually fit him. He and his dad stayed in the car while I shopped. He now has a few things to get him by until he grows a bit (which probably will be sooner rather than later).
His Nana and Papa Shockley got into town yesterday and they brought a few more things that fit him and will get us through the next few weeks. They are so in love with him. My mom can't help but talk with this strange sort of speech impediment when she talks to him. I thought this was silly, until I caught myself doing the exact same thing with him. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.
Nana and Abram.
Papa and Abram.
So here's the sweet baby. I know my blog has been about many things up until this point. From teaching to pregnancy. Well, I think it's safe to say that this little squishy will most likely be the main focus of this blog from now on. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading about him as much as I will surely enjoy writing about him.
Oh... and... Happy Thanksgiving!
To make a long story... semi-short (but not really):
We had out 38 week visit with the doctor on Tuesday, the 16th. At that point, he agreed that by 39 weeks I would be ready enough to induce labor, which I immediately and excitedly agreed to. In my mind, it was perfect. He would be early AND planned. And I sure love both of those things! But Abram (and more accurately: GOD), were about to prove to me that my timing is not perfect, while His absolutely is. God's, that is. Not necessarily the Babram's.
Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at 1:30ish, I woke up to a gush of fluid and ran to the bathroom yelling at Quinn that my water broke. He jumped out of bed faster and more awake that ever in his life and began clothing himself and collecting items for our hospital bag. I wasn't having contractions yet, so we were able to take a little bit of time and make sure that we had everything that we thought we needed, which was great.
By the time we got to the hospital and checked in at around 2:30am, I was having slight contractions, fairly close together. But I was only 2 cm dilated. Over the next 5 hours or so, my contractions got to the point that I was ready for my epidural. I figured I was going to get one regardless, so why wait for the contractions to KILL me before getting it. I was at about a 7 on the pain scale, doing the classic bed gripping, high pitched squealing, slight whimper thing every minute or two with each contraction. So I figured: Why not. By this point, I was about 4 cm dilated.
Getting the epidural at that point was the best decision I made. I went through enough of the labor to know that it hurt and people who did it without drugs must be super human. However, the majority of the next six or so hours were spent in relative comfort with Quinn and I talking and resting and joking and all that jazz.
This is me around 3am. Checked in, beginning to contract, still smiling for the camera.
This is Quinn around the same time.Around noon, I started to feel pressure pretty low and the nurse checked to find and I was 8 cm and fully effaced. She also discovered that Abram was already pretty low and that if they left me alone for a few hours, he would work his way down by himself and the actual delivery would probably be easier.
This is exactly what happened. My doctor came in to check on us around 1:30 and I was fully dilated, but they left me until about 2:30. When we finally got set up to push, they were all convinced that he was going to come quickly. And with in five contractions worth of pushing and about 20 minutes, we had a Babram!
The moment that they set his little gray body with his little cone-shaped head on my chest, I thought, "That huge thing was inside of ME??!!" He seemed so big when he was out compared to when he was balled up in my abdomen. He let out a few little cries, but was really calm for the most part. I tried to watch as Quinn stood with him at the warmer and they weighed him, etc and had a hard time not crying as I watched my husband suddenly become a dad.
These are pictures Quinn took of Abram right after his cleaning, warming, and weighing. I like this one because it's like he's thinking: "Hmmm... did I get lost? Maybe I should have stopped and asked for directions..."
Unfortunate immediate newborn picture. I don't think I've ever seen a newborn that looks "cute" minutes after they are squeezed out of the birth canal. Our son was no exception. He got progressively cuter as his face regained it's original and intended shape.
All wrapped up and ready to go to mom! I waited for what seemed like an eternity to get stitched up and finally got to hold him for the first time.
This is our OB, Dr. Seeker. We switched to him around week 28 of the pregnancy and it was such a blessing. He is the sweetest, most attentive, encouraging and knowledgeable man. He was almost as excited as we were to meet Abram.Abram had a few visitors while we were in the hospital. We got pictures of some of them, but unfortunately, not all of them. His first visitors were his Aunt Liesl and Uncle Eric, who drove all the way up from San Antonio as soon they found out he was here.
Uncle and Aunt Doctors Major and Captain Eric and Liesl Grenier (that's their official title).
Our friend, Riley, and his girlfriend, Sarah.On Friday afternoon we got to take the Babram home. We were so glad to get home, but a little worried about how we were going to fare on our own. We didn't have any family that was going to be coming until Thanksgiving week. It proved to be more difficult than we anticipated. Quinn got flu symptoms for a day, but started feeling a little better the next. This means it is probably a viral infection (still no good for the baby). So he's had to "suit up" every time he holds the baby. I can barely sit down or walk because of the recovery from the delivery. Between the two of us, we've some how made it work and the baby is still alive and clothed and (hopefully) well fed. He's had a couple of people come visit him at home:
Shanda Chesnut, my teacher friend from Hendrickson. She is having her own little Baby Nut in about 5 months!
...And she couldn't stay away. So she came back with our other teacher friend, Angela Kidd. Abram loved them; proven by the fact that he slept contentedly in their arms, being passed back and forth, and never showing them his (currently) baby blues.We have been, literally, living in our living room since we came home from the hospital. Because of Quinn's sickness we have been worried about us all sleeping in the same room. So, Abes and I have been sleeping in the living room, where we drug the changing table and all other necessary baby items. He is currently sleeping in a makeshift bassinet - which is a storage basket from under our coffee table with a memory foam pillow shoved in the bottom. Since he doesn't roll or move and prefers to be swaddled when he sleeps, this is working out fantastically for now. I hope this doesn't make us sound like bad parents, but we've only been at it for a week, so cut us some slack. We are hoping to move back into our own room tomorrow after all of the sheets have been washed and the cleanliness restored.
This is our living room.
I made this hat for him a few months ago and have been anticipating the day that I would be able to see if it fit him . It is actually a perfect fit! We took him to his first pediatrician appointment in it and got a ton of compliments and a: "You made this?! How did you know what size his head would be?" This would normally be a mundane question, but when it came from the actual pediatrician, I couldn't help but think: "Lady, you're the one who sees newborns all day long. Do their heads really vary in size so much that it would seem like such a big deal that I made a hat that fit a newborn?" But I kept that comment to myself. Plus, she was a really good doctor, otherwise.
Abram strapped in for his first outing. We went to Target to get some clothes that actually fit him. He and his dad stayed in the car while I shopped. He now has a few things to get him by until he grows a bit (which probably will be sooner rather than later).His Nana and Papa Shockley got into town yesterday and they brought a few more things that fit him and will get us through the next few weeks. They are so in love with him. My mom can't help but talk with this strange sort of speech impediment when she talks to him. I thought this was silly, until I caught myself doing the exact same thing with him. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.
Nana and Abram.
Papa and Abram.
So here's the sweet baby. I know my blog has been about many things up until this point. From teaching to pregnancy. Well, I think it's safe to say that this little squishy will most likely be the main focus of this blog from now on. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading about him as much as I will surely enjoy writing about him.Oh... and... Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey Ani -- everyone's looking great. Hope you have a great thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteCongrats Ani! So happy for your and your beautiful family!
ReplyDelete