Introducing Cameron Andrew

I cannot believe that tomorrow, our little Cameron will be 1 week old!!! AHHHHHH!! I feel so old when I say, "I can't believe how fast the time goes."

Technically, tomorrow I should be 39 weeks, but due to complications, my doctors decided to induce me early.  I have had very few issues and complications during my pregnancy.  I only gained 20 pounds, had very little morning sickness and that only lasted the first trimester.  I was tired, but not overly exhausted.  I was not super emotional or hormonal, and Max was very surprised about how "normal" I seemed throughout the whole pregnancy.

Around 33 weeks, my swelling started, but it didn't seem to be a concern as that is a very typical symptom of pregnancy.  My ankles swelled to an enormous size, especially at the end of a work day.  I turned 36 weeks on Monday, February 20 and went for my weekly appointment.  I met with a doctor who I had seen previously in my pregnancy, Dr. Shepherd.  For the first time, my blood pressure was a little elevated, 136/84.  I thought it was a little high, but nothing to be too worried about.  However, during pregnancy, if your blood pressure is higher than it has been in the rest of your pregnancy, then they consider it high.  The Dr. Shepherd came in, did my exam, and then started talking to me about my blood pressure.  She said high blood pressure and swelling could be signs of pre-eclampsia, and the only way to treat it is to delivery, and since I would be full-term the following Monday, they may deliver early.  I started to cry....not because I was scared or anxious, but because I had in the back of my mind that if anything, he would be late, but definitely not early.  I felt I was not mentally ready yet.  Since I had the week off from school for winter break, my doctor told me to lay low and lie down about 80% of the time and check my blood pressure 2-3 times a day.

I left my appointment and called Max in tears.  He left early and came home.  Being the calm, cool, and collected one, he told me we would be fine, and as long as he was healthy and I was healthy, that is all that mattered.  So, I laid low (for the most part) but spent much of the week getting ready for an early arrival.  We had to install the car seat, pack our bags, and put together the pack and play.  My blood pressure was great when I was laying down, but if I was up for any period of time, my blood pressure shot up.

I went back to work on Monday (February 27) and went to the clinic at lunch to have my blood pressure checked.  It was 148/92!!!!! From what I read about pre-eclampsia, 140/90 is considered high. Everyone I work with said I needed to call the doctor.  I called my mom and she said the same.  So, I called and they wanted me to come in.  I called Max, and he left work early, but I told him not to come to the doctors office yet and to wait and see what they decided. The only thing I had in the back of my mind was that they were going to send me straight to L&D and induce me.  Max went home and frantically packed our bags just in case.  He had installed the carseat and pack and play the night before (thank goodness).  After waiting about an hour and a half, my blood pressure came down to normal.  I didn't see my regular doctor or the doctor I saw at 36 weeks, and this doctor kind of blew off my blood pressure as me being "frazzled with the kids at school."  I had an ultrasound and some blood work, and was sent on my way.  I was kind of miffed.....not because I wasn't induced, but the doctor didn't seem like it was much of a problem compared to the other doctor I saw.  I already had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday, so I decided to take Tuesday and Wednesday off and take it easy.



Max was off on Wednesday and went to my appointment with me.  I told him to take a picture in case this was the last time we were home with it being just the 2 of us.

Here I am at 37 weeks.

And our bags are packed

I saw Dr. Shepherd again at this appointment.  I went into the appointment, and my blood pressure was high.  They had me lay on my left side for about 15 minutes and checked it again.  It came down a little, but not as much as they wanted it to.  The Dr. Shepherd came in and handed me a bunch of paperwork and sent me to L&D.  She said if they decided not to keep me to come back by the office and they were going to write me out of work.  We thought this was it.  We let our families know, but told them not to come and we would keep them updated.

Here I am hanging out in the L&D observation area.

I had a lot of blood work done, hooked up to the baby monitors, had my blood pressure checked frequently, and an ultrasound.  After all of that and 3 hours later, they sent us home.  I also had to do the 24 hour urine collection again (it is horrible) and take it to my follow-up appointment on Friday. So, we went back by the office to get my excuse to take me out of work and to make a follow-up appointment for that Friday (March 2).  We went and turned in my excuse to HR and to my school, and then went home.

I laid low for the next 2 days and waited for my appointment on Friday.  Max had to work, but left to come to my appointment with me.  I once again met with Dr. Shepherd.  My blood pressure was still high, and she sent me to L&D again.  I got there, changed into the gown, and gave my urine sample.  When I got back to the observation area, they started to hook me up to the monitors.  Max and I were in the process of making a bet about what the outcome was going to be.  He thought I would definitely be induced.  I thought they may hold me, maybe overnight, but probably wouldn't induce.  Then a nurse walked in and put down this peach colored paper.  The nurse asked her, "Is she staying?"   The other nurse said, "Yes, she's an induction."  MY JAW DROPPED!!!! I couldn't believe this was actually happening.  So, they walked us across the hall to my room.

Here I am hanging out

One of the last pictures of it being just the 2 of us

Dr. Bello, who I had seen previously in my pregnancy came in.  He checked me and I was dilated maybe a fingertip, still sitting high, and not soft at all.  I was sealed up like Fort Knox.  I knew this was going to be a very long and tiring labor process.  He decided to start Cervidil that night at 6:00 to soften me.  It had to stay in for 12 hours, and in the morning he would check me and start Pitocin.  We made it through the night, and when he came in at 6:00 in the morning (Saturday, March 3), I hadn't changed at all.  That was very disheartening to hear, but also confirmed that this was going to be a long process.  They started the Pitocin, and came in every few hours to check my progress.  Saturday was a very emotional day for me.  I cried off and on throughout the whole day.  I had very little pain and was not uncomfortable, but all I kept thinking about was if the Pitocin didn't work, they were going to do Cervidil again that night, and Pitocin the next day again.  I felt like we were on a carousel going around and around with a high chance of it ending with me needing a c-section.  The nurses came and checked my progress every few hours, and I hadn't made any changes.  I expressed my concerns to the nurse, who relayed them to Dr. Bello.  He came in around 10:30 that night, checked me and I was at 1 cm. He didn't want to do a c-section yet because he couldn't say what would happen over night.  He wanted to do the Cervidil again that night, and see how things looked in the morning.  I was fine with that because I really didn't want to bring a bunch of people in that late at night to do surgery (I prefer my doctors to be well-rested), but if I didn't make any progress, I really didn't want a repeat of Saturday.

We did the Cervidil, and in the morning (Sunday, March 4) he came in I was 2 cm.  He broke my water at 10:00.  Dr. Nater, who I saw on Wednesday, came in talked to us about everything, and I started my epidural.  I wasn't in too much pain at the time, but I knew with Pitocin I wouldn't make it too long before I started hurting and didn't want to get to the point where I was dying but had to wait for an hour or so.  I started to get somewhat regular contractions that lasted a long time, but they were still far apart.  They checked me throughout the day and I was making progress, so I was very happy.  I was able to get some sleep and relax.

At 7:00, the night shift came in and I met my nurses who would be with me for the next 12 hours.  They thought by the time I started pushing, he should be here within the hour.  We were kind of excited because Sunday was my dad's birthday and he and Cameron could share the day.  Around 10:00, they came in and checked me.  I wasn't quite 10 cm, but they wanted to go ahead an start pushing.

My epidural was working so well I couldn't feel any contractions nor could I feel exactly how to push.  I pushed for an hour and a half straight before Dr. Nater came in. She checked me, and helped me do a few pushes.  They then decided to turn down my epidural so I could feel more and increase my Pitocin.  I thought surely I was going to die, but it wasn't too bad.  They wanted me to rest for about 30 minutes, and then we would go back to pushing.  At 12:00 (Monday, March 5), they came back in and we started back again.  I pushed until 1:30, and Dr. Nater came back in.  She decided since I wasn't making any more progress and had been pushing for 3 hours which is the most they want someone pushing, we needed to do a c-section.  At this point, I was tired and ready and was completely fine with it.  She said she was going to call in the staff needed and we would head to the OR at 2:15.  I rested a bit and Max packed our bags and got ready for surgery.

At 2:15, we headed to OR.  I remember everything that happened after this, the people, how cold I was, how bright everything was, how I'm laying naked on a table and not really caring what everyone thought (modesty definitely goes out the window when in labor).  They put the big blue sheet up, gave me some more meds, and then Max came in.  The nurses asked Max if he had a camera and he left it not knowing he could bring it in.  Thank you Robin Berger, one of my nurses and someone I graduated high school with, for finding our camera and bringing it to Max.  Max sat there and held my hand the whole time.  I felt very disconnected from the whole thing.  I didn't feel hardly anything, not even pressure.  We heard he was out, but didn't cry at first.  And then we heard that first cry.....it still brings tears to my eyes.  Max and I both cried.  Max went over and took Cameron's first pictures:

born at 2:49 am; 6 pounds 4.5 ounces; 19 inches long

Footprints

Max brought him over and my heart completely melted

We got to our new room at 6:30 am, and by the time all the nurses came in and did their checks, it was 8:00 am, and we were EXHAUSED.  We had been awake for 22 hours and labored all day.

Flowers from Max (on the left) and Max's parents, Papa Kay and Grandmamma (on the right)

Because of the c-section and high blood pressure, we had to stay at the hospital until Thursday.  Spending 6 days in the hospital definitely takes its toll.  Max and I were dying to get home.

We finally got to leave on Thursday at 3:00 pm.

All in and ready to go

Max said this was the scariest drive of his life, but he did awesome : )

Just hanging out at home in my boppy

Spending time with Mommy

Getting his first bath at home at 6 days old (Sunday, March 11)

With Papa Kay and Grandmamma

With Papa Kay

With Max's brother, Uncle David

With Grandmamma

Hanging out with Daddy

So, tomorrow, Cameron will be 1 week old.  We are all doing well at home.  Max is home for the next week.  Max and I have been together for 8 years, and watching him and being with him the past week has made me fall even more in love with him.  He has been an INCREDIBLE and AMAZING husband and dad.  I am truly blessed to have him in my life.  He has been doing all the laundy, washing the bottles, and helping out with feedings.  I am so in love with him.

Cameron is doing great as well.  We went to the pediatrician on Friday (March 9).  Cameron weighed 6 pounds.  We go back tomorrow (March 12) for a weight check.  He is eating between 1.5 and 2 ounces at his feedings.  He has been SO easy.  He sleeps all the time, loves to be held, and rarely cries.

I am doing pretty good for the most part.  I have never been happier in my life.  I am recovering quickly from my c-section, and Max has been a huge help with my recovery.  I wanted to breastfeed or a least pump for Cameron.  Breastfeeding and pumping has been a little bit of a challenge for us.  I had surgery about 8 years ago and I think that is playing a part in the difficulty I'm having.  I am only producing about 10-15 milliliters, sometimes 20, when I pump which isn't anywhere close to the 45-60 he is supposed to getting.  I have also been very emotional the past 3 days, just about every little thing makes me cry.  It started Friday night.  Max was feeding Cameron his bottle and I just started crying.  I told him that I don't want Cameron to ever grow up and I want him to be small for ever.  I then cried a little bit later about the feeding issues we have been having.  

As far as Cameron growing up, I have been telling myself that him growing up is out of my control and he will grow up and to try not to spend my time worrying about him growing up and enjoying every minute of the time we have now.  As far as the feeding, I am doing the best that I can.  We obviously have to supplement with formula, but for the time being I'm pumping and trying to feed as much as I can and then we are filling in with formula.

I called my mom last night just wanting to talk to her about everything and she said the same thing Max said.  Never in my life did I ever think I could be as happy as I am now.  I was elated when Max and I got married and we have continued to fall more in love with each other.  And now that we have Cameron, we have fallen more in love with each other and love Cameron more than anything.  I am truly blessed.  Every time I hold Cameron I thank God for the blessing that he is, and for this little life He has entrusted us with.

Cameron, I love you more than you will ever know.  Daddy and I will do all that we can to make you happy and will always support you.  You are an absolute blessing and our lives have been forever changed.  I love you being little and being 100% dependent on me and daddy, but we are very excited to see you grow and be a wonderful, Godly man.  We love you.  

Happy 1 week Cameron Andrew.  WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Baby Shower # 1

My friends Michelle, Kristen, and Biz hosted my first baby shower on Friday, February 3 at Ruby Tuesday with some of the other self-contained special education teachers I work with in the school system.  We all have so much fun when we get together and totally get what each other are going through, especially when it comes to school.  At the time of my shower, I was almost 34 weeks, so I am losing the "pregnancy glow" and going more for the "death warmed over look," so I'm not looking fabulous in these pictures.  It was also a Friday afternoon, and we were all exhausted, but had a great time none the less.

Cameron, me, and Tammy 

(Cameron had a baby girl, Ella Kate in October, and Tammy and I work at the same school).

 a little piggy bank

cute stork cake

 bouncy seat from Michelle, Tammy, and Carol (all who I work with at school)

 Clothes from my school's Physical Therapist, Julie

Most of the group

Left side (bottom to top): Julie, Katie, Brenda, and Biz

Me

Right side (bottom to top): Carol, Kristen, Michelle, and Tammy

I am very blessed to work with a great group of friends and teachers in a great system.  Thank you all so much for sharing this exciting time with me.  Love you all!!!!

Our family is growing by 2 feet.....

Well, hello blog world.  Long time, no see.  We have had SO much going on recently, well actually, the past 7 months that I need to catch the blog up.  So, here it goes....

As many of you know, our family is growing by 2 feet!!!  Max and I are expecting our first little one on March 19, and we couldn't be more excited!!  I can't say it was a total surprise, but it definitely happened a lot sooner that we thought.  We can't wait to meet our little boy, Cameron Andrew, in March.

We actually found out we were expecting on my birthday, July 9.  My friend Mary Elizabeth from Auburn got married that afternoon here in Newnan, so one of her bridesmaids, Whitney, stayed with us so she and I could go to all the wedding activities together.  I took the test that morning before I left for my hair and make-up appointment.  Max was already awake, and I called him into our room to show him the test.  To say we were both shocked and speechless would be an understatement.  Like I said, it wasn't completely unplanned, it just happened much quicker than we thought.  We didn't say anything to anyone until a few weeks later, but below is our first picture as expectant parents (it is so crazy to say that) the night at Mary Elizabeth and Justin's reception.

We actually left a week later to go on a cruise to the Caribbean.  We decided to tell our families after we got back from our cruise so they wouldn't freak out about us being gone.  I'll do a whole post about our cruise a little later, but we had a blast.  The funny thing is I was so excited to go because it would be our big summer vacation, but when we were there, I got very emotional thinking this would be our last big trip with just the 2 of us.  It was bittersweet, but we had an awesome time.

When we got back, we decided to spend the afternoon in Phenix City with Max's family and tell them our big secret, and then we went to my parent's house.  I don't have pictures at either house, but both of our families were very excited.  Kind of funny story--when we were at my parent's house, my dad was in a little irritable.  While we were there, I asked my dad about something at the house that we needed (I don't remember what it was), and I think he was irritable he would have to bring up a piece of furniture from the basement.  So, to make him not so irritable, I said, "Oh, one more thing" and he said, "No, no more things." And I told them that I thought they would really want to hear what I had to say.  So we told them they would be grandparents.  My mom cried and my dad was ecstatic.  My sister actually already knew because she had come up to school 2 weeks earlier to help me in my classroom and paint for me, so I had to tell her why I couldn't help her paint.

We went for our first doctor's appointment when I was 9 weeks, on August 15.  We got to see where his little brain was and hear his heartbeat.  It was definitely a very surreal experience and I did get a little teary eyed.  Below are baby's first pictures:

A whole 2.35 cm long!!

I had a relatively good first trimester.  I had morning sickness for a few weeks, but only when I would brush my teeth in the morning.  I got to where I would wake up and turn on the sink and let the water run without brushing my teeth knowing that the thought of brushing my teeth would make me sick.  Sure enough, it did.  I then invested in the Scrubbing Bubbles One Step toilet cleaner to help with the smell of toilet water.  I would just push the pedal, and no more toilet water smell, which definitely helped.  I also had a LOT of fatigue and tiredness.  I'm sure a lot of it was due to pregnancy, but I also just started the school year with a totally new group of kiddos which added to my exhaustion.  I came home everyday and fell asleep on the couch, and then Max would wake me up at 9:00 to go to bed in our room.

I went to the doctor every 4 weeks, and everything checked out great.  I passed my first glucose test with flying colors.

At 20 weeks, we went back to the doctor to find out if we would get to buy pink or blue.  We went to the doctor on Thursday, Nov. 3, and planned to tell our families that Saturday, Nov. 5 with a dinner at our house.  Another kind of funny story: Max and I were waiting in the waiting room and I kept saying, "What if they can't find out what it is" and "What if baby doesn't cooperate?"  We went back for our ultrasound, and sure enough, baby wasn't cooperating, but the ultrasound tech was great and she kept trying.  She looked everywhere else, and measured baby's head, legs, length, and then went back to see what she could see.  Baby had it's legs right underneath their bottom, so I thought, "It's a girl because she is sitting so lady-like."  Max just laughed, and then the ultrasound tech saw something.  Sure enough, our little baby was spread eagle, and you could see EVERYTHING!!! So, IT'S A BOY!! Max and I had talked before hand what we wanted.  If I could've picked, I would have picked a boy. Something about the concept of having a "big brother" I really liked, but I just knew it was a girl.  Max knew it was a boy all along because his family only makes boys (at least that's what he said, and I think it's true).  Max's dad is 1 of 3 boys.  Max has a brother, 4 boy cousins, and 1 girl (love you Hollon).  When we found out it was a boy, we were very excited.  We smiled and laughed the rest of the afternoon.  Pictures of our little boy:

He will kill me when he's older for posting this.....

When telling our families, I originally wanted to make a cake and color the inside either pink or blue.  But then I saw my friend Meredith's gender reveal idea (who is also expecting a little boy about a month after me), and stole it.  

We decided to do a taco night because it could feed a lot of people and was easy to make, and we would then reveal our secret during dessert.  Below are pictures from our reveal:

We did get it on video as well, and I'll add that later.  I bought 2 dozen cupcakes from Publix, uniced.  I tinted the icing blue and made a hole in the top of the cupcake, and then covered the top with white icing so when they pulled it apart/bit into it, they would see what we were having.  With Max only having a brother, and me only having a sister, we were excited that one side of our family would get something "different."  My family was excited it was a boy as were the McKay's (they also had a gut feeling it was a boy for the same reason Max had).

My second trimester went very smoothly.  I got a lot of my energy back, my morning sickness was gone, and was very much enjoying being pregnant. 

Max and I went on the annual Thanksgiving beach trip to Destin with our family friends the Higgins and Fowler's.  My family has been friends with the Higgins for 21+ years.  Their oldest daughter Katie got married in August 2005, and she and her husband Brian are expecting their 2nd child, little Karleigh Rae exactly a month after our bundle of joy is expected to arrive.

All the girls crafting: Mom, Me, Mrs. Rhonda, and Katie

The day we left--the 2 preggos--Me & Cameron Andrew and Katie & Karleigh Rae

Our annual Thanksgiving trip was wonderful, and we enjoyed spending the week with very dear friends.  This year was a little extra adventurous.  

First, we were scheduled to arrive in Destin on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Max had to work that weekend, so we left about 4:30 after he got off work.  We made it to I-10 and then started having car trouble.  We were in my 2000 Honda Civic that my parents bought me when I was 15.  It had about 187,000 miles.  We were packed FULL.  We merged onto I-10 and our car started making a loud, pinking sound.  At first, Max thought we had a bad batch of gas because one of his cars had made a similar sound.  I, on the other hand, felt very different.  Long story short, my dad and sister had to leave Destin to come pick us up in Chipley, Florida off I-10 at 11:00 at night, unloaded our stuff into my mom's car, and had my car towed.  We made it to the beach around 12:30 and we were exhausted.  We then spent the 2 days deciding what to do with my car.  We ended up deciding to sell it to a mechanic for a whopping $350!!!!  When we had to go clean it out, I cried (which Max told me ahead of time that if I thought I was going to cry, I didn't need to go, but I told him I would be completely fine...I was wrong.  I bawled!!!)

Second, I received a text from my sister on our way down to the beach and heard that our house was a lot less than expected.  Tears had already been shed over the status of the house, so we were nervous to see what it was like when we got there.  Needless to say, it was rough. We all ended up spending the first 2 days having various repair people come in to fix things in the house: the AC, the dishwasher, etc.  We ended up finding somewhere else to stay.  Our second house was AMAZING.  The only downside was that it wasn't directly on the beach, but it was only a short walk.  We spent some of the remainder of the trip finding our house for next year and already booked it.  We had an AWESOME time at the beach, and were very sad that it had to end.

When we got home, Max and I had to get our Christmas picture done.  I was very bad last year, and we did not send Christmas cards out, but this year, I made sure we did.  It was also a way to share our excitement with people we very rarely talk to or hear from.

 I am about 24 weeks in this picture

We had a great Christmas, and savored every minute of it being our last Christmas with just the 2 of us. Not that we aren't thrilled to have a little one next Christmas, but like the cruise, it was bittersweet.  

December 30 was my last 4-week appointment, and knowing that I was at the home stretch was really starting to freak me out.  I took my second glucose test at this appointment and did well.  I had also only gained 11 pounds which I was very excited about.

While at the beach, Max and I decided to do some renovations to our house. They are things that I have wanted to do for the past 3 1/2 years, but we have for whatever reason put it off.  We decided we wanted to get all new floors for our house: for the cleanliness aspect for a new baby as well as to help up sell our house (which is something we hope to do in the next year if the market turns around).  We also decided to have the entire interior of our house painted.  The walls have been the same, contractor paint color since Max bought the house in 1997 with the exception of our room, the 1/2 bath downstairs, our dining room and kitchen.  I'll have a whole house update in the next week because it looks TOTALLY different.

It is now mid-January, and we cannot believe Cameron will be here in about 9 weeks! AHHHHH!!!  We have ordered most of our nursery furniture and his bedding, and picked up his crib and dresser, but it is not yet assembled because our new floors are being installed this week (YAY)!!  My dad is building a corner cabinet for Cameron and we still need to buy a rocker for his room.  We have a few things for Cameron, but not too much.  His nursery is a mess, but hopefully it will look much better in the next few weeks:

We are moving the furniture out of this room to put in storage and have to clean out the closet from when the painters were here.  Max tells me it will get done, but I have my doubts....I guess it's good that Cameron won't know any better?

I have about 28 days left of work which is crazy to think!! We took our childbirth class this past Saturday...talk about information overload, but it definitely made me think about a lot.  I have always been one of the ones that has wanted to know how soon I could get an epidural, now I'm kind of wanting to see how far I can go on my own.  Who knows how I feel when the time actually comes.

At 31 weeks, I am feeling pretty good, but my fatigue is coming back.  I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks now, and will do so for the next 5 weeks, and then I'll go every week.  I am becoming a little more irritable regarding all that needs to be done.  We need to buy our new car, put his nursery together, the flooring installers are coming this week, and there are tons of things I need to get done at work before I leave. I will also be heading to New York next weekend with a friend from work and her 2 girls...last girls trip, but I'm very excited!!

I know this was a VERY long update, but I wanted to update everyone on what has been going on the past 7 months as well as document for myself what my pregnancy has been like.  Stay tuned for the house updates as well as how the next 9 weeks go.