Saturday, April 23, 2011

Andrew's birth story - Part 2

Now that we had an official date we figured we better decide on our little guys name.  As soon as we found out that we were having a boy I started looking through the name books and had a list of 25 names.  I would try to get Paul to sit down and create his list but all I would get were off the wall names that we would never name our child.  Paul wanted to wait until we got closer to the birth date to pick the name.  And with the Grandma's dying to know the name, the more it prolonged the process but now that we knew our baby would be here on Monday, December 13th we had to agree what we would name him.

And so the name Andrew Thomas was chosen!  I loved the name Andrew from the beginning but Paul kept telling me the only way we could name him Andrew was if his middle name was Bernard.  For those of you not familar with the office, there is a character on the show with that name.  I seriously considered Bernard just so I could get my little Andrew!  He'll thank me later for not giving in!  We decided on Thomas for the middle name because it represented both sides of our families.  Ray's middle name is Thomas and I have an Uncle Tom. 

We spent the rest of the weekend finishing up last minute things and unpacking my hospital pack which had so many things to help me through labor but were unnecessary since we were having a c-section.  Sunday felt strange because it was the last day Paul and I would ever spend as a family of two.  As we finished up everything I realized that I had not given Paul a hair cut and he badly needed one!  I told him that we had to cut his hair that night because he couldn't meet his new son with shaggy hair.  So at 11:30pm, we cut his hair and then headed to bed with great anticipation for the morning.

Our alarm went off at 4:30am, but neither of us had really slept the night before.  I think we were both so nervous and excited to sleep.  We got ready and headed to the hospital for our 6:00am check in.  I had always expected it to be chaotic getting to the hospital to have the baby but since we were having a c-section it was very calm.  We got to the hospital and checked in at the birth center where we were greeted by our nurse that would be with us throughout the entire process.  She was amazing!  I think she definitely calmed both of our nerves down about what we were about to expect.  Surgery was scheduled for 8:00am but before we could get to that I had to be hooked up to IVs and given 2 bags of fluid.  After getting me settled, Paul took all of our things to our room.  While he was gone our nurse came in and said that the other c-section that had been before us was cancelled so we would be going in early.  A moment of panic set in, I was supposed to still have over an hour to prepare and now she is telling me we are headed in 45 minutes early! 
                                                        I'm so ready to meet this little man!

Paul came back to the room and we quickly called our parents who wanted to be there during the surgery.  We had agreed that no one was going to be allowed into our room until after 12pm so that we could spend time just the 3 of us.  Both parents said that even though they couldn't see us right away they really wanted to be there.  Dr. K came in to go over what was going to happen and sign off on the paperwork.   We were all ready to go but then they realized that there wasn't a 2nd doctor there yet so we had to wait for one to show up before we could get this show on the road.  Finally Dr. C (who happened to be the dr. that sent us for the growth ultrasound) got there and we were ready to go.  We headed to the operating room just before 8am.  I had learned from several friends that once you get to the OR, they would only take me into the room and Paul would have to stay in the hall until after I had my spinal.  I warned him of this so that he wouldn't freak out if it was taking too long.

I kissed Paul and headed in the OR and at this point I got more nervous.  The anethesiologist arrived and explained the process.  Our nurse was great and held my hand while I was getting the spinal and talked me through it.  As soon as it was in my legs started to tingle and they swung them up on the table.  Finally Paul was able to come in and that made me feel so much better.  He sat at my head with the anesthesiologist and held my hand and we just talked.

At 8:06am, Dr. K and Dr. C offiicially began the surgery.  As they "worked" they were chatting away like they were having coffee which made both Paul and I feel better because they seemed so relaxed.  I couldn't feel anything until they started to push on the top of my belly to get Andy out. As they were taking him out, Dr. K said "Oh my gosh Rachel!  He is huge!!"  I remember hearing his first crys and being so relieved.  They held him up so that we coul see him and then took him to the table.  I heard someone say 8:12 and I said 'Oh well thats not that big'.  I was then told that was the time he was born and that they hadn't weighed him yet.  Once they got him on the scale the nurse said "He's 11lbs and 22in long!' - Ok that is a big baby!  Paul got to go see Andy while they cleaned him up and were putting me back together.  Finally Paul got to bring Andy over to me and I was completely inlove!  He was perfect!

                                                          Happy Birthday Andrew Thomas!

And now we are three!

We were done with surgery at 8:28pm and headed to our room.  As nervous as I was going into the surgery I could not have asked for a better experience.  All of the Drs and nurses we had were awesome and made sure both Paul and I were doing ok throughout the process.  Our delivery nurse even came by our room the next day before she went home just to check on us.  Once we were brought down to our room Paul headed up to tell the parents that everything was good and show off the first few pictures we had of Andy.

After we got settled into our room it was finally my turn to hold my sweet boy.  There were so many emotions and things going on that I cannot remember the moment I got to hold Andy.  I told Paul that to this day it still bothers me that I can't remember it.  All I remember is having him in my arms and never wanting to give him up.  He was my little boy.  We spent the next several hours just starring at Andy and sending out text messages that Andrew had arrived and that everyone was doing great.  Andy got his first bath and his footprints taken.  You know how pictures are so important to me and Paul did a wonderful job capturing everything he could since I was stuck in bed. 



Even though I may not remember every detail from that day, I will never forget the moment Dr. K held Andrew up over the blue curtain and the amount of love that I felt for not only my little boy but for my amazing husband and the family that we had created.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Andrew's Birth Story - Part 1


Our birth story is a little different from the average person since we had a scheduled C-Section.  Here is a little back story on what led us to the operating room.

My pregnancy was going great!  I was not having any complications and everything was measuring right on track.  Then Andrew grew!!  At our 36 week appointment my belly measured a little larger then it should be.  My Dr. was out so I saw a new Dr. that I had not met before.  I asked her what that meant and she said that it could be extra fluid or Andy's position so we scheduled a growth ultrasound for the next week.  Wouldn't you know it that the Seattle area would get hit with a huge snow storm and basically shut down everything.  Unfortunately, my Dr.'s office closed so we would have to reschedule for the following week. 

Finally on December 3rd, Paul and I headed to the Dr to find out how big Andy was.  I was disappointed because my Dr. was on vacation (which I knew going into it) and was seeing another Dr. who I had not met yet.  I was so nervous as to what they were going to find and it would have made me feel better for Dr. K to be there.  We got into the ultrasound room and they hooked me up to the monitor.  First and foremost, everything looked perfect and there was nothing wrong.  Then the tech started taking the measurements.  She wasn't saying a whole lot but then I saw the estimated weight flash on the screen.... 10lbs 3 oz!!  AND I STILL HAD 2 WEEKS TO GO!!!!  I asked the tech what that meant and she said she really couldn't tell us much and that the Dr would go over everything with us.

We had about an hour before our Dr appt so Paul and I went to lunch and I was a blubbering mess.  I had always said that my birth plan was to get the baby out the safest way possible for both of us.  But I never really wanted to have a C-Section - that is major surgery.  I was able to pull myself together to eat lunch and then we headed back to the Dr.  We met with the Dr and she measured my stomach which was measuring at 49cm.  For those that don't know, you typically measure within 2cms of how far along you are.  There is no way that a person should ever be 47 or 51 weeks pregnant but yet that is how my belly measured.  We talked about our options and the pros and cons of each.  One of the biggest concerns was obviously Andy's size.  The concern was if we tried to deliver he may get stuck which could result in an emergency c-section or them breaking bones of both of us to get him out.  Not exactly a pleasant thought.  They sent me for the 3 hour glucose test the next morning to make sure I had not developed gestational diabetes after my initial screening but that came back perfect.  We left the Dr office with a ton of information and went home to discuss. 

We had a family friend who delivered a 10lb baby and a friend who had just had a c-section so I called both when we got home to get their opinions.  I started leaning towards the scheduled C-Section and after talking with them I felt much better about it.  I wanted to discuss it with my Dr. as well so we scheduled an appointment with her the next week.  Like many of you know, I am notorious at making lists.  So the next week Paul and I set off the Dr with my page of questions and after discussing it with our Dr the decision was final!  We were scheduled to meet our little boy on Monday, December 13th - the day before his due date.

Here are some of my belly pictures!



Saturday, April 16, 2011

The joys of Pregnancy

I'll admit it; I feel like I had one of the easiest pregnancies!  After watching Erin endure 9 months of morning sickness I was terrified that I would end up the same way.  Lucky for me I was 100% the complete opposite!  The first couples weeks I was extremely exhausted and would feel a little queasy in the morning but I quickly learned that milk would cure that.  I have never drank so much milk in my life!  Paul and I used to buy half gallons and they would expire before we would use it all.  After I got pregnant I upgraded to buying my milk at Costco (2 gallons) which would last about 1 1/2 weeks. 

So many people talking about how wonderful the cravings are and that being pregnant allows you to eat what you want.  I never really had cravings but there were many times I created my cravings to splurge for something.  Remembering back to the girl at Costco, I also tried to not eat everything in sight in hopes that my belly would never hang out of my shirt!  Then there are the food aversions.  One night for dinner I cooked chicken on the stove in chicken broth and garlic, let me tell you that was the worst mistake!  The smell of that chicken had me gagging me for days.  The other was Mexican food!  I LOVE Mexican food and so when we went to visit our friends in Spokane I was excited to go out for lunch.  Unfortunately either I got food poisoning or the 24 hour flu bug because for the rest of the night I was up throwing up.  I told Paul the next day that I was so glad throwing up was not part of my every day routine because it was awful!  I stayed away from Mexican for several months after but lucky for me the next I had it Andy loved it as well.

My biggest challenge while I was pregnant probably came at about 32 weeks.  Since I had been blessed with that lovely stint of shingles in December I still had residual pain in my back and being pregnant only made it worse.  My Dr. referred me to physical and massage therapy which was the most amazing thing she could have done!  Every week I would get to spend 2 hours at the therapy center and it was pure heaven!  That was the only part I was sad about after I had Andy!

I know many people have mixed feelings about being pregnant but I truly loved it!  From the day we found out we had a little bean growing I became very protective of my belly.  We went to several Mariner games in the first couple months and I would always walk with my arms shielding my stomach.  When I first started feeling the little flutters of Andy moving it was amazing.  I loved feeling him move around and would always worry if I hadn't felt him in a couple hours.  I soon learned he loved chocolate milk and would really wiggle after I drank some.  (Maybe that's why he was 11lbs!!)  Paul was a little less excited about the movements and would get creeped out.  He would talk to my belly and feel the kicks every once in a while.  I loved when I was able to see Andy's kicks and punches.  I could sit and watch my stomach for hours.  I remember one day I was sitting at work talking with my friend Ashley when she yelped "Oh my gosh your stomach just moved!"  I was also lucky enough to not have many strangers attack my belly which I heard was a common occurrence.

The one thing I wish I would have done while I was pregnant was take a picture of my belly every month.  I originally wasn't going to take any pictures but Erin told me that was the one thing she wished she would have done.  I took pictures about every 4 weeks but when you have a little bean growing as rapid as they do, it's amazing how fast your belly changes.

I hope that in our future pregnancies I will be as lucky as I was with this one!

Friday, April 15, 2011

April 9th, 2010: We're having a Baby!

Those were the words that came out of my mouth that Friday morning when I called Paul at work!  We had decided a couple months before that we were ready to add to our family so it wasn't a huge surprise, just happened a lot faster then we expected!

For a couple weeks before that I had been completely exhausted and would take a nap as soon as I got home.  I thought there was a chance but every test that week came up negative.  I tried to not be disappointed but I was.  I had been swimming at the gym and my hip had been bothering me so I made a dr appointment just to get it checked out.  I realized that if they needed to take x-rays at the dr we would need to know if I was pregnant or not.  So that Friday morning I took the test.  I figured that was going to be the longest 2 minutes of my life but it wasn't.  The test immediately came up positive!!!  I was so excited and in shock that I think I walked in circles for a minute and kept saying "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!".  I am sure there were a few choice words said too but I won't repeat those.

My next thought was how I would tell Paul!  At first I was going to wait until he got home from work and do something really cute.  But then I got realistic and knew there was no way I could wait all day!  So I called him, my hands shaking, and he didn't answer!!  I left a message and told him to give me a call.  (And did I mention I was supposed to be on a conference call for work at this time!)

I called the Dr. next to find out what to do next.  And then Paul called back.  I just blurted out "Baby, we're going to have a baby!!".  I think he was in a bit of shock and could only talk for a minute.  I swear that was the longest day because I was so excited and couldn't tell anyone.  After Paul got home from work we talked about when to tell our families.  We were going to try and do it that night but couldn't get a hold of them.  So we decided to go celebrate with just the 2 of us....hot dogs at Costco!!  I remember as we were standing there I glanced over and saw this extremely pregnant woman whose shirt didn't even cover her belly.  I looked at Paul and said "Promise me that you'll tell me if my belly ever hangs out".  I figured there was no way that I would ever get that big and that she had to be carrying multiples.  Little did I know 9 months later I would be "that girl" whose shirts barely covered my belly and no I was not carrying multiples!

We decided to tell our families the next morning.  We had a family friend, Brian M's, 60th birthday party that day so we knew we had to go tell our parents first thing.  First we went to Mom & Dad A's,  Ray kept saying - "you guys are up early, what's going on?" Gail then asked "Do you have something to tell us?!?!"  Paul and I just sat there looking back and forth and finally I nodded and then I think she burst into tears.  Lots of hugs and then we were off to tell my parents.  We got to my parents house and we sitting there chatting when I asked what they were doing around Dec. 15th.  My mom proceeded to tell me she didn't know what she was doing later that day and asked what we were up to.  I said "Oh well, we're going to have a baby!"  Again tears flowed and lots of hugs. 

I called Erin from my parents house phone and she didn't answer so I called from my cell phone.  She answered and sounded so irritated!  I asked what Finn was doing and she said playing on the floor.  I said "Does he want to talk to his cousin?"  Very confused and irritated she says 'What?, what cousin?'  I said "the one that he will have in December."  She was confused for a minute and then got so excited!  I think she sent me multiple texts throughout the rest of the day that said "You're having a BABY!" and another one that said "Chinese gender predictor says BOY!"

We then headed to Brian's birthday at our friend's Scott and Erica's house.  After a while, and several pokes from Gail, Paul and I decided we would announce it.  Chris and Christina were sitting in the living room so I said "Hey Chris, do you and Christina want to be an aunt and uncle?"  It only took a minute for everyone to figure it out and again lots of hugs and tears.

Most people wait until 12 weeks to tell people but we couldn't wait.  We called the rest of our family and a couple more really close friends to share the news.  We are so lucky because we have so many people who love us and were so excited for us.  We knew that the next 9 months were going to be a whirlwind but we were so ready to start on this journey!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Wow! How time flies!

Wow! How things have changed since my last post! I started my blog in July 2009 while we waited for Finn to arrive and now he is 20 months old and we have our own little baby!
Quick run down of what has happened in the past 22 months:

2009
July:
- The entire A-Team made a trip to Disneyland to celebrate Mom & Dad A’s 35 wedding anniversary
- We experienced record breaking heat waves while Erin was 9 months pregnant
- Paul and I started house hunting for our perfect home
August:
- 17 days after his due date, Finnegan Orion, arrived on August 10th weighing 8lbs and 20 inches long
- We made a trip to Lincoln City with Mom & Dad K, Mom & Dad A, our family friends, Pat & Noel drove up from California to meet us there
- The K-Team family started their Annual Summer Camping trip at Rainbow Falls
September:
- Paul and I celebrated our 1 year Anniversary by moving into our new house
October:
- Paul and Ray made a trip to Notre Dame for the UW game and to visit Dan during his Senior year
November:
- We celebrated Thanksgiving with both families
- Mom, Erin, & I did our Annual Christmas cookie baking and even had some new guests with us – Gail and Finn.
December:
- We had our first house guests when Joe, Dan, Bryan, and Allie A came to watch West Valley High School play in the State Championships for football
- I ended up with a bad case of the Shingles and had to lie low for the first couple weeks. I was so bummed because I had such big plans on decorating the new house and really couldn’t do much.
- We had a wonderful Christmas


2010
January:
- We started the new year celebrating with friends at our house
- The A-Team headed to Florida to watch Dad A run his first Marathon at Disney World. We were so excited to get into the warm weather but unfortunately Florida was having record breaking lows and it was only in the 30’s! It was sad to check the weather back in Seattle and see that it was warmer!
February:
- After the busy holiday season we were pretty boring in February which turned out to be a good thing because we would be busy in the months to come!
March:
- My Mom and I had been working on a huge fundraiser for a family friend that had been affected by the H1N1 virus. We held a Book Sale and Spaghetti dinner. I have never seen so many books. All of our hard work paid off and we raised over $12,000!!
- We were also lucky to have a visit from Paul’s cousin Dan during his Spring Break.
- Paul and I hosted the J-Team family Annual Bunco party
April:
- WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!! On April 9th we found out that our lives would change forever and that we were expecting our first baby!
- Baseball season arrived and we celebrated Mariner’s Opening Day at the Ball Park with the J-Team
May:
- We got to hear our baby’s heartbeat and found out our estimated due date was December 14th
- I celebrated my first “Expectant” Mother’s Day
- Memorial Day weekend we visited the Andrews’ family in Spokane
June:
- My Mom and I were back to fundraising again and planned a Dinner and Auction where we raised over $18,000 to benefit our family friend
- We officially announced We’re Expecting to everyone who didn’t already know
- Celebrated Paul’s first “Expectant” Father’s Day
July:
- Celebrated all of the July birthdays (5!)
- Enjoyed the 2nd Annual K-Team camping trip to Ocean Shores (Camping and pregnant don’t always mix!)
- On July 26th, we found out that we were having a healthy baby BOY!
August:
- We celebrated Finn’s 1st birthday
- Paul and I went to Lincoln City as our last get-a-way before the baby arrived
September:
- Started getting the Baby’s nursery together
October:
- Mom, Erin, and I completed our Christmas cookie baking early this year since I would be 8 ½ months pregnant when we would typically do it
- We celebrated Baby A with my side of family and friends at a Fall Baby Shower thrown by my sister
November:
- We celebrated Baby A with the A-Team family and friends at a wonderful baby shower thrown by our sister-in-law, Christina
- We partied it up at a HUGE 50th Birthday party for our wonderful family friend Colleen!
- I was thrown a great Baby Shower at work
- We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families
December:
- Grandma Rose & Grandpa Ray land in hot water when they both decide to take trips out of town 2 weeks before Baby A is about to arrive. Lucky for them he decided to stay put
- December 13th at 8:12am we welcomed our amazing little boy, Andrew Thomas!

Now that gets you caught up through December. I should give out gold stars for everyone who made it through that! Over the next couple posts I will tell you all about Andrew’s arrival and his first couple months and then that will bring us to the present. I promise to be better about updating our blog and posting pictures. I figure that with family and friends spread all over the place this will be a great way to keep everyone up to date as to what we are up to and as Andy grows up!


Friday, June 5, 2009

New to Blogging!

Well here I am! I decided to create a Blog after Erin started hers so she could update us as we anxiously await the arrival of Finn! I figure it will be a good thing to have to keep family and friends updated on what is going on in our lives. We'll see how good I am about updating it though!