Happy 2 Week Birthday, Meredith!

Ok, so it must be obvious that we are first-time parents due to the fact that we celebrate weekly birthdays of our new baby girl! But, nonetheless, Happy Birthday, Meredith Grace! She is changing daily and I love watching it (as long as she isn't pooping on me, projectile vomiting on Daddy or crying a 3 hour stretch). She has been a joy and I am learning so much about her. Today, we realized that the reason she hasn't been content in the swing lately is because she does not like the "cradle rock" motion but the front to back motion. Once I turned the chair and put the rock on FULL swing, she was happy as pie. She continues to like her hair washed but has peed on us twice this week during the sponge bath portion of the bath--should we take that personally? For the most part, our method of feeding during the day has been effective, but last night, we had a small relapse...here's to hoping that this kind of sleepless night remains in the past (I know, we are naive).

We went to the pediatrician again this week and the report is that jaundice is almost gone and she is back up to birth weight averaging a gain of over a half an ounce a day. We have had so many great visitors this week and have enjoyed them all immensely--thank you for thinking of us through your wonderful gifts, quality time, and delicious meals. Please don't be afraid to come by, especially during the week. I feel like a hermit and welcome adult interaction! We will keep you updated...in the meantime, pray for a warm week so that Meredith and I can get out for some walks! By the way, the picture is after her bath today. Her daddy and I thought that her fluffy hair was a hoot and had to take some pictures!

Meredith's First Week

It is hard to believe that our baby girl is now a week and 2 days old. Did I really give birth over a week ago? We thought we would recap our week to those of you who are curious. Right now, our sweet girl seems to be confused of when day and night actually occurs. She likes to sleep very soundly during the day and is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during the evening. However, with some trial and error on mom and dad's part, we are getting this thing under control. We figured out if we fed her less more often during the day, she stays more alert. We are then feeding her a little more less often at night. It is all new to us and we are trying to figure this thing out. Also, she is really starting to do well with breastfeeding which is a relief to all of us. If it hadn't been for John's constant support, this mother would have turned to formula very quickly those first couple days. We have also had the amazing support of the lactation consultants at High Point Regional, our pediatricians, Smart Start, and of course, our family members and friends. How blessed are we to have such support!

Some things we have learned about Meredith Grace is that she likes to be swaddled, however, she does not like her legs to be swaddled and has to have her hands near her face. She loves when daddy reads her books and enjoys falling asleep on his chest. Mommy is a pro at putting her to sleep but is not that great at keeping her awake--thank goodness to daddy being able to wake her out of the deepest of sleeps for a feeding. She enjoys her rainforest swing and bouncer. She loves to get her hair washed in the warm water but hates sponge baths. She makes the funniest "warning" face prior to making dirty diapers.

Also, we visited the pediatrician's office last Tuesday and his report was that Meredith is healthy and has not lost any weight since our leaving the hospital. She does have a touch of jaundice due to her being born early but not enough for concerns. In fact, it has already subsiding. Our next appointment is on Tuesday. We will keep you updated and she continues to grow and experience the "firsts" of life. Can you tell we are in love?

The Birth Story--Meredith Grace

It is interesting how things always happen according to God's plan. I went into the doctor's office on Tuesday, February 12th for a routine doctors visit and they came back saying that my tests showed signs of toxemia. Dr. Sansing sent me to the hospital to run tests at Labor and Delivery. At the hospital, Dr. Cope decided that while I had strong results for toxemia, he wanted to see more tests so I was discharged with instructions to run a 24 hour urine test at home and begin "bedrest" from work. On Wednesday, I ran the tests with plans to go to the doctor on Thursday. While being at home, it began to snow and on Thursday morning, John decided it was more important to drive me safely to the doctor's office than go to work. So, he called into work and we headed to the doctor's office. At the office, they ran more tests and were still concerned even though Meredith showed no signs at that point of being in distress. We were instructed to go home and wait to hear from further results and be prepared to go to the hospital to be induced most likely on Monday night, 2/18. When we got home, we were doing some things around the house when we got news from Dr. Patel that my results were a concern and they wanted me to be induced that night!

John and I were shocked, but we went out to dinner then headed to the hospital to begin the process of induction on that Valentine's evening. The labor and delivery nurses gave me a cervical softener and labor began naturally at 4AM. I was then given pitocin at 7AM and my water was broken around 10AM. My labor pains when from a 3-4 on a ten point scale to a 7 by 12:30 and I begged John to go hurry the nurses along on getting my epidural ready. Dr. Speight came in at 1:00PM and administered the epidural. While I thought this would be an immediate relief, it took the epidural about 45 minutes to give me relief and I had to be given extra medication. At this point, there were concerns because I had not surpassed being 2cm dilated after 8 hours of dilation and Meredith's heart rate was beginning to drop every time I had a contraction. I was given an oxygen mask and John began making me breathe very deeply to try to keep her heart rate up with every contraction.

At 4PM, Dr. Cope came in to check me and asked me to push a couple times. I had been having problems with my cervix earlier, so I thought he was attempting to "reposition" it--whatever that means. The nurse looked at me and stated, "do you know what this means?" I had no clue! She informed me that I was about to have a baby! Because we had been preparing ourself for a C-section and I had not been dilated past 2cm as of 2PM. Apparently I went from 2-9cm in a couple hours. I pushed for only about 30 minutes once my mother got into the room and we had Meredith at 4:59PM. Dr. Cope was fantastic and had to cut the umbilical cord from around her neck on her descent out. John still got to cut a small piece, though. By the way, her Apgar score was 9 for both 1 minute and 5 minute.

I have to say, that after hearing so much about labor and delivery, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. There were some painful rough patches but the whole thing was so worth it. We are all doing well now and are at home. Meredith is a little bit of a lazy eater but we are getting this breast feeding thing down and my milk is finally coming in. She is also nocturnal so she LOVES to sleep during the day despite our attempts to wake her and keep her awake and then LOVES to keep us up all night. We love being parents and are starting to see her make new facial expressions and we love it when her eyes open up and she is wide awake. We will keep you all updated. Tomorrow is her first pediatrician visit.

She is here and more beautiful than we could have imagined!

We just wanted to post quickly that we are the parents of a beautiful baby girl, Meredith Grace. While we would love to post more at this time, she needs to be fed! Just a quick note, she was born at 4:59PM on Friday, February 15th. She weighed 6 lbs. 9.3 oz and was 19.25" long. She has a head full of hair and long fingers and toes. We plan on posting the full birth story soon! Stay tuned!

A BABY TOMORROW!!!!!!

Well, we just got test results back from today's doctor's visit. As it turns out, I do have a strong case of toxemia with high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in urine, and excessive swelling. According to the doctors, the only way to rid of toxemia is for the baby to be born! So, we have been instructed to leave now, go to dinner, and head to the hospital. They will give me medication tonight to soften my cervix and will induce me with pitocin tomorrow morning. With that being said, Baby Partin will most likely make his/her debut tomorrow evening! OH MY GOODNESS...IT ISN'T EVEN MARCH! So, make sure to check in on the hospital website starting tomorrow evening....see below post for information on how to do that. Keep us in your prayers and especially that my being sick will continue to not affect the baby. HAVE I SAID OH MY GOODNESS YET!?!?!?!?!? Here goes our life changing event!

An Eventful 37 Week Update!

Yesterday, I had the 37 week doctor appointment. The nurse did her usual checks and notified me that my blood pressure was higher than it ever has been, there was a little protein in my urine, and that she was still concerned with the amount of swelling I have been having. Once I moved in to see the doctor and she did the internal exam, Dr. Sansing informed me that I am 80% effaced. I was thinking that I was probably slightly effaced just because of the increase of Braxton Hicks contractions this week but didn't realize I would go from 0-80% in a week!! Dr. Sansing was also very concerned about my signs for preeclampsia so she sent me directly to the hospital for tests.

I went to labor and delivery and they performed tests. After a few hours of monitoring and lab tests, it was determined that my blood pressure was not going down neither was my swelling. However, my blood tests all came back fine and the baby is happy as pie with no signs of distress. Dr. Cope, my doctor on call, ordered that the hospital discharge me and that I stay home on Wednesday and Thursday from work. He ordered that I follow through with a 24 hour urine test and come in early on Thursday to be evaluated and run some more tests. So, for now, I am on "bed rest" from work, saving my urine (I know, very glamorous), and experiencing this urge to get ALOT done on a day off from work. I will update you tomorrow!

Information:
Effacement: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/effacement.html

3 More Weeks! A couple last minute things!

Only 3 more weeks until our due date! I wanted to make sure I posted a few things just in case Meredith/Ben comes early. We have a website set up with High Point Regional that once the baby is born and John activates it, you will be able to see pictures and details about his/her birth! So, before I run out of time, when baby is born, go to: http://www.welcomenewborn.com. You will need to type in my last name "Partin" and the password is: ncstate. Most of you should receive a birth announcement via email as soon as John activates it as I entered those in about a month ago.

Just a couple notes about what we have been up to this weekend. John has installed the car seat and bases in both of our vehicles as well as touched up the bassinet that both he and all of his sisters used as well as his mother! We have it set up in our bedroom in case we decide to use it. I packed a labor bag, recovery bag (complete with items for both John and I), and a baby bag so that we are prepared to go to the hospital whenever the time comes. I finished cleaning all new baby clothes and totally reorganized the dresser in the nursery. I reorganized the shelves on the changing table to make sure I won't have to bend too much should I have to get a C-section. Oh! And I have been really trying to overcome a sinus infection that I came down with late last week. Is this nesting or is this my usual OCD organizational behavior in light of the fact that I am sick?

Our 37 week appointment is on Tuesday, I will keep you all updated. I am curious to see what the doctor says due to the fact that I am having up to 6 Braxton Hicks contractions an hour...I have a feeling I might be slightly effaced. Until the appointment, stay tuned for any new activity!

36 Weeks and Going Strong!

I had my 36 week check-up at the OB/GYN's office yesterday. I have to say, part of me has been hoping that they would say, "You are full term, the baby is fully developed, and guess what?! You are already dialated 3cm and absolutely HAVE to go ahead and take maternity leave!!!" I don't think anything says it better than the 36 week cartoon on baby-gaga.com. I have come to realize that the 9th month is not a glamorous one.

So, to give you an update, my blood pressure was fine and I am neither dialated nor has my cervix effaced quite yet. The baby IS in the head down position and his/her heartbeat was 150. The doctor and nurse were very concerned about my swelling and they wanted me to put my feet up more during the day. I thought that was the most humorous of all...putting my feet up? While teaching 9th graders? In fact, they even asked if there was a place I could lay down during my 3rd block planning! My response, I could use the sick room, but then I would be around a bunch of sick kids--no thanks! So, their response was for me to prop my feet up during planning and when I get home in the evening, immediately lie down on my left side to encourage my body to excrete the extraneous fluid. I am blessed, though, that this is not preeclampsia and that the baby is doing fantastic!

If you will, however, just say a quick prayer that this last month goes quickly, healthily, and with very little stress. I am facing stress both with my new students as well as outside of school that often occupies my mind and keeps me from maintaining my sanity. I hope all is well and that we will have adorable pictures of Ben/Meredith within the month! 4 weeks and counting!

Another great shower in Raleigh!

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends! Today, Jennifer and Katie threw me a baby shower in Clayton. We were able to get most of the LoveLee's (college bible study) together as well as some other great friends I had not seen in quite a while. I got some wonderful necessities as well as some great unexpected surprises. The food, games, and company were great! Thanks to all of those that came and made it so fantastic! We missed all of you who could not attend. I can't wait for Meredith/Ben to meet you all!




















The LoveLees + Vivian :)















Brooks and I