Welcome Gabriel Joseph LaTour!

Gabriel Joseph LaTour was born on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 7:34pm via C-section.  He weighed 8 lbs 2oz and was 20.5 inches long.  Dad announced that he was a boy and cut the umbilical cord.

Gabriel Joseph, just after birth

The LaTour Family - after the C-section

I'll write a post some other time about the unique experience that was the C-section, but I'll tell you now how excited and amazed I was to see our son!!!  Wahoo, I have a son!!!  Gabriel is perfect in every way - 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 eyes, a cute nose, etc.  He has been a very alert baby, which is pretty cool.  He has a head of dark blonde hair and blue eyes (that look like they will stay some shade of blue like Mom & Dad).  Rather than continue to describe him, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures:

Babcia & Gabriel

Auntie Debbie & Gabriel

 

Baby feet!

Baby bassinet card

Gabriel, 1 day old

Gabriel with his Godparents-to-be

1 Day Old

Peaceful baby

Caught Daddy looking so lovingly at his son!

Nonno & Gabriel

Since I'm finally feeling a TON better and got the opportunity to shower & put on real clothes (ok, pajamas!), I hope to have more pictures of myself with the baby today.  (We did take a few already, of course, but they are on Craig's phone and inaccessible to me at the time of this post.)

Everything I Could Want to Know about Obstetrics

Nope, baby is still not here yet.  Way too comfy in there, especially with a stubborn cervix blocking the way.

Thus, as a result, I now know more than I'd ever wanted to know about induction methods.  From cervical dilators to contraction stimulating drugs (ie, pitocin) to cervical balloon catheters, I can probably tell you almost as much as the nurses or doctors can.

I really wasn't planning on sharing this, but it's going to come out eventually, I guess.  I don't know why I haven't really wanted to tell too many people, since it's not really a big deal except that it makes me feel like my body is failing me in the whole childbirth process and I'm embarrassed for whatever reason.  I've been at the hospital since 7pm on Tuesday night (continuing for a very boring 72 hours) for labor induction, obviously with no luck.  My very stubborn cervix and the very comfortable baby have made trying multiple doses of 2 different cervical dilators and 2 days of pitocin unsuccessful. 

We thought s/he might end up being a Halloween baby, especially after we've spent the last 10 months talking about how we did NOT want baby to be born on Halloween (and frankly, we never realistically considered it because baby was due a whopping 11 days ago!).  I tried to come around to the idea of a Halloween baby - an easy theme for birthday parties! 

However, it being Halloween and pretty far into the evening with a still-unfavorable cervix, Craig & I are now looking at a November baby instead of an October baby.  But, hey, maybe that's ok because October's birthstones are opal (very hard to come by the natural form) or pink tourmaline (expensive and not really appropriate if it's a boy), whereas November's are topaz or citrine (both yellow and conveniently gender-neutral).  (Obviously, this is trivial, but it was something my mom made me look up to distract me during this long hospital stay.)

Our last resort before c-section is a balloon catheter, which will be placed within the next hour or so.  If that helps to dilate me by morning, then it's one more round of pitocin tomorrow to help initiate contractions.

So, for those of you still waiting, praying, and hoping, if tonight's balloon catheter is unsuccessful, we are probably going to end up scheduling a c-section within the next few days, since babies born after 42 weeks (which I hit on Monday) have a significantly higher risk of stillbirth.  We especially appreciate the prayers, since a c-section is a major surgery with significant recovery demands.  At this point, we are just wanting a healthy baby.  Craig has been wonderful and super-supportive with my desires regarding these medical decisions over the last few days, which has made this process a little smoother.

So, I hope there are no hard feelings that I didn't share this information with you on a more timely basis.  I'm hoping blogging about it will help me come to terms with this unexpected birth process both mentally and emotionally.  I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel - our beautiful new baby!  And the other thing that has kept me sane over the last few days is the curiosity of whether it's a he or a she!  That will be an exciting moment for sure!

41 Weeks

...and still cooking!

41 Weeks Pregnant

I was asked if I had any gut feeling on whether baby is a boy or girl, but I really don't.  I asked Craig the same question, and he said, "At this point, I'll take either one, as long as it gets the heck out of there!"  Haha!  It's cute to see him so impatient to meet our child!

Bags are packed and we're ready to go at a moment's notice.  I cleaned the house (again!) and got a few baby clothes ready to wash for when baby comes back home.  It's hard to know whether to have newborn stuff or 0-3 month size ready, since we don't know how much baby will weigh at birth.  Most of the newborn stuff says up to 8.5 lbs, and I'm sincerely hoping the baby isn't any bigger than that!

I created a playlist of music that should distract me from contractions once I go into labor.  Lots of "move music," as I call it.  I also downloaded a white noise app if I need something more "soothing" like beach sounds.  I have no idea whether I'll be a calm laborer or if I'll turn into something from the Exorcist like my mom said she did.

When we were in labor & delivery to see my doctor on Sunday, I was really pleased to see that the hospital still has crucifixes up in each room.  That should make a good focal point if I need it.  And I am also excited that I have my Babcia's gold "#1 Mom" pendant to wear after the birth.

My goal today (now that the vacuuming, mopping, & laundry are done!) is to relax and talk baby into packing his/her suitcase!

Here's the new movie of all the baby bump pictures!

Doctor, Doctor

Sorry, I couldn't resist titling this post after the Thompson Twins' popular song!  I remember dancing to it with a broom on my parent's deck when I was young.  By that time, it was way past its release date (1984, if you're curious), but I remember it clearly on a tape with a lot of other great songs, like Toto's "Rosanna" and Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue."  Something is definitely wrong with you if the lyrics from one of these songs doesn't get in your head now, haha!

Today is officially 41 weeks.  We headed in for another ultrasound and exam.  There have been no changes in how I'm feeling as of yet - still feeling baby move regularly & not feeling any contractions (that I know of).  I'm still a happy, though progressively more impatient, pregnant woman.

We passed the time this morning with grocery shopping and putting together a few early Christmas gifts from baby's Babcia - a toy chest and footstool.  (Though, the footstool probably won't be used for a long while yet!  Luckily, it tucks nicely into the toy chest until we need it.)

Cute little footstool for baby!

The beautiful toy chest!

The ultrasound went well:  baby still has plenty of amniotic fluid, is showing signs of fetal breathing, and is moving around well.  His/her head is nicely engaged in my pelvis.  Status quo from last week.  The ultrasound tech clued us in a little cool fact about baby - s/he has a ton of hair on his/her head!  We even got to see it waving around on the ultrasound screen.  Don't let the peaceful picture below fool you - s/he was moving around like crazy in there!

Baby's cute little face & hand/arm at 41 weeks.

As for my stubborn cervix, the doctor today agreed with my usual doctor that it is still quite stubbornly not dilated.  There's nothing new they (or I) can do at this point if labor doesn't start on its own except consider induction with a cervical dilating gel overnight followed by a pitocin IV to start contractions.  I'm so not eager to go that route.  So, in the meantime, we'll let you know when there's new news to share.

40 + 6

Yep, 6 days overdue now.  Baby must be pretty darn comfy in there!  We had a doctor appointment this morning for another nonstress test and exam.  I went into it pretty anxious, considering both the doctor and my husband (as well as many family members & friends apparently) are inclined to induce labor at this point.  I had 5 days of acupuncture treatments and tried a lot of the previously-mentioned mythical natural induction methods over the last week, without success.

I've cleaned just about everything (well, except the garage!) and there isn't a single thing I still need to do for the baby's arrival here at the house.  I've been trying to relax and think positively about baby's arrival in hopes that will help move things along.  I've almost gone the route of turning off my cell phone to stop hearing "Have you had the baby yet?," but I know that's just people being excited.  I'm excited to meet our little one too, but frankly, it's becoming a lot of pressure on me to produce this child that is apparently still happy in the womb.  This link has absolutely the best response to this question!

I'm sure everyone is eagerly anticipating the results of the doctor appointment to see what the next steps are, so I won't continue to be suspenseful!  Baby passed the nonstress test just fine (and it was, as always, fun to hear his/her heartbeat chugging along).  Apparently I also had a contraction during the test, but it wasn't anything I was aware of, so that's interesting. 

However, I am still not dilated at all (which received a "Yours is the most stubborn cervix" comment from the doctor).  So, I am getting scheduled for another ultrasound and exam (with another doctor since mine will be off) tomorrow.  I know my doctor is eager to induce me because it's getting pretty late in the game (as noted by his comment "If you were my daughter or wife, you'd have already had the baby"), but I managed to hold him off for a few more days to see if things progress on their own (provided baby continues to do well). 

[On a side note, I don't want it to seem like I dislike my doctor - he is really great!  He is very informative and empathetic, and he always takes whatever time is needed to answer my questions.  This being my first pregnancy, I'm just a little (or more than a little!) anxious and I'm finding it hard to trust his medical opinion as the be-all-and-end-all even though I know he's the expert here.]

So, we are just hoping and praying that the baby decides it's time already and makes his/her entry into the world soon.

Gracious Father, Your Word, spoken in love, created the human family 

and Your Son, conceived in love, restored it to Your friendship. 

Hear my prayers as I await the birth of our child. 

Calm my fears when I am anxious.
Watch over and support me 

and bring our child into this world safely and in good health, 

so that, as members of Your family, we may praise You and glorify You 

through Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, now and forever. 

Amen.

(Adapted from http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/pregnant.htm)

A Still-Pregnant Pincushion

Today will be my 4th day straight of acupuncture treatments to try to get this baby moving out (thanks Emily!).  I feel like a real-life pincushion (not that the needles hurt, just that it's literally what I look like when I'm having a treatment!).  My anxiety about needing medical induction is rising, with opinions coming at me from both medical and personal avenues.  (I never realized how the question "Have you had the baby yet?" would make someone who is overdue feel.  Not that I don't understand and commiserate with everyone who is excited; it's just a lot of pressure and guilt when your body hasn't yet pushed out the cute little bundle of joy that everyone is eager to meet.  And the pregnancy hormones don't make it any easier to cope with this issue of wondering why baby hasn't yet arrived.)

Both of my parents are of the mind that, as my dad put it, "The pear only falls from the tree when it is fully ripened."  I'd like to stand by that philosophy, but there are medical reasons why an induction could be necessary in the next week or two.  The doctor is keeping a close eye on how the baby is doing with regular nonstress tests (the next of which is scheduled for Sunday), so I'm really feeling that, as long as baby is doing ok, there's no medical need for induction as of yet.  Even he says that labor doesn't start until the baby produces a specific hormone from the adrenal glands, but he still recommends induction after a week past the due date.  I'm trying to stick by my guns that if baby is fine, I don't want to be induced unless it's medically necessary, but that is very difficult when there aren't too many people around that agree.  I know the risks to both me & baby increase as time continues, but a lot of my research has shown that first-time mothers don't tend to give birth until 41 weeks naturally anyway and that one medical intervention (like a cervical dilator medication) can lead to others (check out this Mayo Clinic website on induction risks).  At least I'll get to have a quiet prayerful hour at church to contemplate things right before going for my next exam on Sunday morning.

Anyway, enough talk about my nervousness about medical interventions.  I have been a cleaning fanatic this week; no, not because of any increased energy on my end but more because I'm bored being home from work with no baby to attend to.  In the last few days, I've changed out the summer clothes for winter items in our closet & dressers, cleaned & reorganized the fridge & freezer (I couldn't believe how gross it was after only 6 months since the last cleaning!), and washed a few of baby's things.  Our niece made beautiful slipcovers (thanks Justine!) for this nursing pillow (similar to the Boppy type) that I got online for free.  (I'm so glad she is putting my sewing machine to good use!  I am pretty crafty, but I never could get used to the sewing machine!  So much for following in the footsteps of having a seamstress as a grandmother and a father who had a stint as a tailor!)

Justine picked out some pretty cool fabric patterns!

If it ever stops raining, I intend to get out and walk today.  Walking is supposed to be another natural inducer of labor - something about gravity helping pull baby down further into the birth canal.  I think I'll make it productive & wander down the street to CVS to pick up the last book of stamps that I'll need for the baby announcements.

I also tried a yoga labor-inducing dance on YouTube for giggles.  I'm sure I looked ridiculous!  I did, however, find a pretty decent 10 minute pregnancy meditation soundtrack that helped relax me.  Here's to happy thoughts about baby's impending arrival, whatever method that takes.

Any Baby Yet?

See, this delay in the baby's arrival just makes me think even more that Craig paid off the doctor and ultrasound techs to show me pictures and play me heartbeats from some other woman's pregnancy, and that I'm just terribly fat, haha!  Which would mean all the baby movements I have been feeling were just gas!

40 Weeks Pregnant

No, I don't really think that, but I am not the most patient person in the world and waiting for our little one to make his/her debut is somewhat tedious, especially now that I'm on maternity leave.  The house is officially spotless - the windows & curtains are washed, the floors are vacuumed & mopped, my craft closet is reorganized, all the laundry that could be done is finished and put away.  I think all that's left is to empty the refrigerator, wipe it down, and reorganize the groceries.  (Frankly, I would rather wash windows at five other houses than do that!)

So for everyone watching and waiting (and blowing up my phone daily like it's Grand Central Station), there is no news yet and yes, we'll be letting you know when there is, so you don't have to worry!  I truly am grateful for all the caring calls & texts, but I promise we won't be waiting any longer than we absolutely need to in order to spread the good news about baby's arrival.  (Grandparents get first dibs though!)

I started seeing my friend Emily for acupuncture again as of Tuesday; there are some papers out there that talk about acupuncture for labor induction, but nothing conclusive.  I like having an hour to be totally "unplugged" from the world when the needles are in, so it wasn't really a hard decision for me to try it (especially when I had such great luck with it regulating my cycle over a year ago).  I have daily appointments scheduled through Saturday and am hoping it helps the process a little.

This morning we had a LONG appointment at the doctor's office.  First was a non-stress test to check on the baby's heartbeat during his/her movements.  A fairly boring test, in my opinion, as I just laid there strapped to a monitor for 20 minutes and pressed a button when the baby moved.  The test looks for an increase in baby's heartrate when s/he moves, which is exactly what we saw with our little one.  The nurse even put Craig to work holding the fetal monitor pressed against my belly in the correct position.  I was pretty excited when I could see the heartrate increase in number just before I felt the baby kick!

Then we had a 40-week ultrasound to check the baby's growth and the level of amniotic fluid remaining (this is called a biophysical profile).  I was really nervous we would accidentally see the sex of the baby (well, we've waiting 40+ weeks and I didn't want anything to ruin the surprise at the very end!), but it was fun to see the baby again (though it would be better in-person!).  Baby wasn't too cooperative and was positioned so low that the face pictures (below) aren't spectacular and the tech wasn't able to get a profile view.

Baby at 40+ weeks

A little camera shy!

 Finally, we rounded out the morning with an appointment with the doctor to get all the results and see if there was any need to think induction at this point in time.  As it turns out, my cervix is still not dilated at all, so I'm heading back to the doctor on Sunday after church to get another nonstress test and an exam.  The doctor hopes that I won't still be pregnant by then (us too!) , as things can happen quickly at any time, but if things are still closed up by Sunday, we will have to have the induction talk.

Honestly, I would prefer to deliver by the end of this week, but I keep reading about one medical intervention (induction, for example) leading to others (like C-sections), so I prefer we wait him/her out if we can.  I read somewhere that anxiety about labor & delivery can keep your body from relaxing enough to actually get labor started, so I'm trying to remember that God will guide me through this process and I only have to rely on Him.