Almost a Year

So it's been awhile since I've updated things, and a lot has changed. First of all, Aeneas is 11 months old. It's crazy how fast life has gone by. This time last year I was in pre-term labor, worrying that Aeneas was going to come before he, or we, were ready. Now he's running around (okay, more like drunkenly walking around as babies are wont to do), getting into everything, babbling all day long. He is the best thing in my life, besides Tony, and I am so excited to share his first Christmas with him.



We've been lucky enough this year to have gone to both a Mizzou Football game, and some Mizzou basketball games. Aeneas loves seeing his Mizzou Tigers play.

Aeneas loves to eat, as you can see from the pictures. We also love to read about eating. Some of his favorite foods are:

Pizza

Pasta

Meatballs

Bacon

Pears

Bananas
Asparagus

Zucchini

Cheese

Aeneas loves his Zia (Aunt) Stephanie, and we are so blessed to have her here with us, helping take care of Aeneas while we're at work. She is the best nanny we could ever have imagined.

We had some great time outside during the summer and fall too. We got a little kiddie pool for Aeneas to play in, which he enjoys splashing everyone while if it. We went to the park for walks around the lake.

We had a Halloween party for some of the other babies who were born around the same time as Aeneas, and Aeneas was the ninja turtle Michelangelo as some of his favorite words are "Pizza" and "Ninja." We had a ton of fun with the other babies and their parents.









We went to Portland, OR for Thanksgiving, and Aeneas got to meet two Great-Grandmothers, and a whole bunch of other family on both sides. He had a wonderful time, and did surprisingly well on his first airplane ride.We went to Pike's Street Market, the Seattle Aquarium (which Aeneas LOVED), got crumpets and spent some time with Aeneas's godmother.

Playing dress up with hats is one of our favorite things to do. Plus, fezzes are cool, and shark towels are even better since they give you a cape too!

We had some play dates with friends who were from out of town. Hugs are awesome.

I can't believe how fast Aeneas has grown up. The most recent picture was taken at 42wks. Aeneas is now 48wks old.

From all of us, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

We have a BABY!

So I've been HORRIBLE about updating this since I had our little boy! Aeneas Markus Daltoso came January 20, 2014 at 6:43am, weighing 6lbs 13oz & 19.5in long. He is beautiful, and I never knew you could love someone as quickly and easily as I already love him.

Now here is the long story:

On January 19th I had been working on sewing a diaper bag for us throughout the day, with only mild contractions. Tony got home a little after 9pm, and ran downstairs so excited that the Seahawks had made it to the Super Bowl, and then got into the shower. A couple minutes later I stood up to go to the bathroom, and felt a gush of water down my legs. My water had broke! I waddled to the bathroom to let Tony know, as he was still in the shower, and he finished quickly (forgetting to wash his hair), as I called the hospital to let them know we'd be on our way in soon.

We got to the hospital around 10pm, and were checked in quickly. They checked my progression, and I was 3-4cm dilated, 80% effaced, and my contractions were starting to get stronger. I was placed with a nurse who was excited that I was trying to go med-free, and was an amazing help throughout the entire process.

Tony and I put on Psych (the entire 7th season and part of the 8th), and watched it while I bounced on a yoga ball, hooked up to the nst monitors. We walked around the halls some too, my contractions were getting worse pretty quickly. Around 1:30am they checked me again, and I was between 5-6cm, and 90% effaced. The contractions were coming on strong now, every 1-2min, and lasting about 1min long. I decided to get a shot of stadol at this point, so I could try to relax a little and save my energy. WOW, that stuff is STRONG! I felt drunk after it took effect, and laid in the bed talking to the nurses and Tony. At this point, they were having a hard time keeping Aeneas on the nst monitor as well, so they decided to put an internal monitor on him so they could make sure he was tolerating the contractions alright. That was one of the worst parts of the whole process! It took them 3 tries to get it on him, and it didn't stay on for very long. :(

Around 3:30am, my contractions were excruciating, and I told Tony I couldn't do it med-free, and to call the nurse in. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was insistent that he call the nurse in. Once she was there, I talked to her, and she helped me breathe through the contractions better, and checked to see my progress. I was between 7-8, and completely effaced. Instead of getting an epidural, I decided on another shot of stadol. This one didn't work as well as the first, which is normal, plus my contractions were worse.

It only took about 45min until I was almost completely dilated, I just had a small lip left. This was probably the worst part of the entire labor though, as all I wanted to do was push, and I wasn't allowed to until the doctor got there, which was about 30-45min later!

Once the doctor was there, I was able to start pushing. Unfortunately for me, Aeneas was stuck under my pelvis for a little over an hour as I was pushing. I thought I was dying, and had to be put on oxygen as I was having a hard time breathing, and Aeneas was starting to have some distress. Once I was able to get him out from my pelvis, it wasn't very many more pushes until he was here! My labor was extremely fast for a first baby, at only 6hrs, and then 2hrs of pushing, and I only had a small 1st degree tear.

Tony was amazing during this whole process, and got to cut the umbilical cord, and then Aeneas was placed on my chest. The relief I felt once he was out was incredible, and I was overjoyed to hold him. We tried to nurse, but he was too sleepy to begin with. After about an hour of skin-to-skin, they took him to clean him up and do the bloodwork and other tests. They brought him back when they were done, and I got to do some more skin-to-skin with my little boy. :)

Here are some more pictures for you, if you made it this far, you deserve it!

We were released from the hospital on Wednesday, 1/22/2014, and it was great to be able to go home.

The End (of pregnancy) is In Sight

So today I am 38wks 2days, and as much as I LOVE feeling Aeneas kick and roll around inside, I am ready for him to be an outside baby. I am so excited and nervous to meet him, but my body is exhausted from having contractions almost 24x7.

Since I'm on a blood thinner, and have other things that have made me high risk this entire pregnancy, my doctor has decided not to let me go over 40wks. If Aeneas doesn't come out by our next appointment (next Thursday, 39wks 2days), we will be talking induction. However, both my OB and my MFM think I'll go into labor before then on my own since I've been having painful contractions that have been creating progress! Yay! They're hoping that all they would have to do if I do end up needing an induction is to break my water. Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks.

37wks 

38wks - He has definitely dropped.

Cringer has been acting very clingy recently too. I'm pretty sure that he knows something big is going on, and things are going to change, but not what. One day he decided to get a comfortable in Aeneas's Rock n Play.

 

I've also been trying to finish some of the crafty projects that I wasn't able to do while I was on bed rest. I finished the last of the burp cloths that I wanted to do, and just have a couple more cloth wipes left to make. 

I'm thinking the next update I have will be once Aeneas is here!! Stay tuned!

Strict Bedrest SUCKS!!!

Hey everyone,

I've been a little slow on updating this, mainly because I didn't want to worry anyone, but I went into preterm labor on Saturday December 21st. I started not feeling well, that evening, thinking I was just having an off night. I'd been having braxton hicks (BH) contractions for days, not realizing how many I was having until I saw them on the non-stress test (NST) at my doctor's appt the Thursday prior. My dr. wasn't worried, as this is normal to have more BH contractions around 34wks.

Back to Saturday night, the contractions started getting closer together, wrapping around to my back, and hurting. We started timing them, and they were only ~2min apart, lasting for 1min. I called the on-call dr. at the hospital, and he told me to drink lots of water, take a warm bath, and if they continue for another 30min to call back. Unfortunately, they continued, and were starting to get worse. So, I called labor & delivery (L&D), and we headed into the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 11:30pm, and checked into a L&D triage room, and hooked up to their NST machine. After monitoring my contractions and Aeneas's movements & hear rate, the on-call dr. decided to try giving me fluid to try to stop the contractions that way first. So I was hooked up to an IV of saline, but it didn't do anything except make me have to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME! I was starting to get worried at this point that Aeneas was going to come at only 34wks4days. The dr. next decided to give me a shot of terbutaline (it helps smooth muscles, like the uterus stop contracting). It was horrible, the meds made me feel like I was having an anxiety attack, my heart racing, I couldn't get comfortable, and all panicky. Luckily, this helped slow down, and then stop the contractions completely at the time. Aeneas was doing well on the monitors this entire time.

Around 7am we were finally released from L&D, but I was put on strict bed rest (only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and get food. Minimal walking, going up and down stairs, etc.) until I saw my dr. on Thursday for my normal weekly check up and NST.

Needless to say, on December 26th at my normal check up & NST I was still having contractions about 5-7min apart, but they didn't last very long, or hurt. So my dr. decided that I need to stay on strict bed rest until 37wks (when they won't stop a baby from being born). Now this doesn't sound so horrible, only 12 days, but do you have ANY idea how long a day can last when you can't do anything but lay in bed, and nothing is comfortable anymore.

At this point I'm 8 days away from being able to get up and do anything again. Any time after 37wks (January 7th), Aeneas can come anytime, and shouldn't (hopefully) need any extra care. We still have some stuff left to get for Aeneas, but have installed his carseat, have his nursery mostly put together, and have our downstairs area ready for him as well.

I am still having contractions all day, everyday, and they get worse when I get up and move around even just for the few minutes to get food or go to the bathroom.

So yeah, I've been on bed rest, bored out of my mind since December 22nd, and as much as I complain, I'm glad Aeneas is able to stay inside, and mature longer.

Here are some pictures of me from the last couple of weeks.

32wks

 33 wks

 34wks

 35wks

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time!

The Countdown Has Begun. 8wks 3days Left (At the Most)

So, it's crazy how fast this last bit of pregnancy has been going. I feel like every week goes by faster and faster, and I just can't get enough done to feel like I'm catching up with everything I'd like to have finished before Aeneas is here! I'll be 32wks on Tuesday, December 3rd!

I am now on medical leave from work, which has been nice, yet somehow I still seem to overdo it at home. It's not easy to do very little. I've been working on some crafts for the nursery. I'm painting a 24x32in map of Middle Earth and two smaller paintings of Smaug, and Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves walking in a line. I also painted a small Hobbit sign. I started a test baby quilt (I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing before making one for Aeneas), which is almost halfway done. I have to say, quilting is not my favorite thing in the world. It's turning out nice so far though.

We had a "Friendsgiving" on Monday night with two other couples (both of whom are expecting as well!) It was a lot of fun, but I definitely overdid it cooking everything. 

On Thanksgiving day, we invited one of Tony's co-workers over, and had a nice quiet day of leftovers, which there were plenty. :) It was much more relaxing. We did miss seeing all of Tony's family though, and going to a movie! 

Our last check up went well, Aeneas is measuring right on track, at ~3lbs 11oz (50th percentile). Here are some of the latest pictures of him. He's finally filling out some, and has quite a bit of hair on his head already. :) I'm getting so excited to meet him! 

 Signing off until next time...

Third Trimester

So I have been horrible about posting lately! Sorry everyone! It's been crazy around here.

I had a kidney infection, and hurt my lower back at work (not a good last 2 wks for me). I'm finally starting to feel better though. However, because of this, and my morning sickness coming back with vengeance recently, my doctor and I have decided that this coming week will be my last at work. I'll be going on medical leave until baby is here, than will have the 6wks (vaginal delivery) or 8wks (c-section) of maternity leave.

Through all of this, Tony has been the most amazing husband I could imagine. He's been crazy helpful around the house, and super sweet to me. I couldn't be more happy with him.

I have some pictures of me from the last couple of weeks, but none of the ultrasounds scanned in of Aeneas. He has been growing well these last couple of weeks. He's around 3lbs now! It's crazy how real this is starting to feel! He kicks all the time, and does crazy ninja stuff in there. :) I also found out that I don't have gestational diabetes! Yay for that! However, I am on the bubble, so I'm going to try to be better about the carbs I choose (hard around the holidays though). 

Here are some photos. This is at 26wks:

I was Juno for Halloween, so here I am all dressed up. :)

This is at 27wks:

This is at 29wks:

Once I'm done with this last week of work, I'm going to be focusing on some projects I've been thinking about for the nursery. I'm going to do a couple of paintings, and work on making a diaper bag and some other small items. Other than that, I'm going to be resting, and hopefully this little guy will continue to grow like he has been!