Carter's Birth Day
>> December 6, 2009
Warning: This will most likely be a long post. If you aren't into hearing about births, this might not be the post for you!
So, Carter's birth day is really a birth journey. It didn't all happen in one day. I went to work on Wednesday feeling a little different than I had before. The last few weeks my Braxton Hicks contactions had been more frequent, but wouldn't ever stay regular (frustrating to say the least). But that Wednesday morning, something just felt different. I kept working trying to avoid some of the pain, but then went home for lunch. Contractions were about 2-4 min. apart, so I went back to work to finish the day. Right when I got back, they started getting more painful so I left again! For the next 2 hours they stayed pretty consistent. I started getting excited thinking, "this is it" and called Matt to come home. Of course, right when he came home they slowed down and basically stopped. So, we decided to take Yoshi for a walk and I complained and whined the whole time that this kid would never come out! About an hour later, I was sitting on the couch, still complaining when I felt a little trickle. Embarrassed, I told Matt, "I think I just peed my pants...oops." But, 5 min. later and a huge gush on the floor, it was confirmed my water had broke! I called the doctor and waited at home until my contractions worsened.
Around 1:30am we headed to the hospital. I was only dilated to 1 cm, but they admitted me and I started the "work" of labor. I was handling the pain pretty well, but my contractions continued to last longer and longer. Around 4:30am, my contractions were coming every 1-3 min. and lasting 2 1/2 minutes long! I opted for a little Fentanyl and kept on going. I started getting really bad back labor and had another dose of Fentanyl an hour later when I had progressed to 3 cm. The doctor then realized Carter was facing head up, which was causing my horrible back pain. Though not originally planned, I decided to get an epidural around 6:30am when I wasn't getting any break in between contractions and my doctor knew I needed to relax in order for him to turn himself around.
Then the waiting game began. I stopped progressing for a few hours and had to have Pitocin started as I switched positions every 30 min. to get him to flip. Unfortunately, once they started the pitocin his heartrate dropped quickly. In a matter of 30 seconds, his heartrate dropped down to 97, I had oxygen placed on my face and about 7 nurses came running in to flip me on my stomach, stop the pitocin and insert a scalp electrode onto his poor little head. By far, the scariest moment of my life. Being a nurse isn't always fun when you're a patient, you know more than you should in those moments. As I lay there holding Matt's hand, trying to hold back the tears, the worst scenarios started running through my head. Luckily, he recovered quickly and I was back to waiting about 20 min. later.
The pitocin was restarted (at a slower rate) and I finally started to dilate. I went from 5 to 7 cm in 10 min, then 7 to 9.5 cm in about an hour. Finally around 5:45pm on Thursday I was able to start pushing! The first 2 hours were pretty intense, but little progress was made. The pitocin was bumped up again and after 3 full hours of pushing (24 hours after my water broke), Carter Thomas Vance entered into this world with both of his hands pushed up against his cheeks (hence 3 hours of pushing and a lot of pain - the epidural had basically worn off by then!).
He was absolutely beautiful, screamed so loud and immediately lifted his head up to look at the world. Matt and I were instantly in love. His stats were: 8lbs. 6 oz, 21 1/2 inches long, 14 in. head circumference, blue eyes, huge feet and lots of dark hair. In a word - perfect!
We have only been home 1 day but just love every moment with him. He is cuddly and likes to yawn, eat and poop. Life couldn't be any better and we feel so blessed.
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So, I now have 2 1/2 weeks until my due date, which officially means he could come at any time. I've been having quite a few contractions, but nothing regular. So, it's now a waiting game. Here I am at 37 weeks.
This might be the last blog until our little one comes. Can't wait to post pictures of our cute little boy!
Unfortunately, the pumpkins were a little soggy from the rain. So, after enjoying a warm slice of apple pie, we went to a local fruit stand and picked out our actual pumpkin. Matt worked hard carving the design. I worked hard eating pumpkin seeds! 
Yoshi relaxed on the couch and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors from the park across the street. 
I'm now 32 weeks - only 8 weeks left to go! This baby is super active and constantly getting the hiccups! It's fun to watch my belly bounce up and down throughout the day. Can't wait to meet him!
We've checked most of the major projects off our list the last few weeks. Matt's dad has been so helpful in getting things ready. Latest projects include: removing a very ugly built-in ironing board in the nursery, fixing our sump pump, ripping out carpet in our bathroom, laying new flooring in the bathroom, dump runs, painting, sanding down and repainting a dresser and much more! I think Matt's ready for this baby to come so he can stop working on things around the house. 
Last weekend we (okay, Matt) tackled the nursery. It's not finished yet, but getting there. We decided on a robot theme and think it's pretty darn cute. Hope you'll agree!
In our sparetime we are getting quality cuddle time in with Yoshi.
And here's the after!
We also decided to get new carpet in the baby's room. The rest of our house is hardwood, but the baby's room had this old, dirty berber carpet from an old daycare. Needless to say, the germaphobe nurse came out in me and I couldn't imagine the baby crawling around on that. It's so soft and clean and just perfect!
Baby V is growing and kicking like crazy these days. I can't believe I'm already 25 weeks! Here's a pic from last week. 
Me and the beautiful bride.
Andrea, Me and Heather
Old college roomates (plus Andrea!). There were about 5 different cameras going off for 2 minutes so no one really knew where to look!
Katy and Brad cutting their cake (seriously, the yummiest cake ever!)
