Week 1

First picture of Ignatius' 52 week project. Self explanatory : )

6.23.14

The Story of Ignatius Roman's Birth

I was warned early on with this pregnancy that after having been through birth once I was likely to experience a lot of prodromal labor before the "real deal" began.  You would think that a person who had done all this before would know when she was in labor, but there were several times when I thought, "this could be it", and it wasn't.  Then finally when I actually WAS in labor, I was in total denial.  Ignatius's due date was the 27th of June, and on the night of the 19th I woke up several times with what I would call "noticeable" contractions.  Keep in mind, I had been having real contractions every once in a while for a week or two, but never more than a few.  This night they came every hour or so and were enough to wake me but not painful... at least not painful to someone who knew how pushing a baby out would end up feeling.  I woke up in the morning and did all the things they tell you to do to test if the contractions would stop or progress (bath, food, etc...).  They didn't stop, yet they didn't progress either.  Throughout the morning I would have a contraction every half hour, then maybe not for an hour, then maybe a few in twenty minutes.  Strange stuff.  I put Augie down for his nap around 1 pm and then tried to take a nap as well.  Right after lying down I had a few contractions in a row that packed a little more punch, so I texted Forrest.  He said he would be home soon (it was Friday, luckily, and he typically makes it home earlier).  By the time Forrest got home, Augie had finalized his decision that he would not be taking a nap that day, so Forrest went to get him out of his crib.  Since I still wasn't convinced I was in true labor, I decided to just message the midwife on call (Leslie) to let her know what was going on.  I told her that I had had a few contractions that were around four minutes apart lasting about forty-five seconds, and she replied that I should give her a call. By this time I was in the tub again trying to relax and she told me that she was going to come over.  I worriedly asked her if in the event I wasn't in labor, whether everything would be fine and she could just head back home.  She informed me that I was in labor, and she would be on her way soon. Contractions were four minutes apart at this point, and I was still worried I was pulling a false alarm. The nurse (Diane) ended up showing up before Leslie, and soon after, they were both present and unpacking labor supplies.  I got checked around 4 pm, and was 3-4 cm.  When they first arrived, my contractions stalled out, which scared me, even though it is quite normal to slow down a bit when surroundings change.  I labored on my birth ball, in the tub, and walking around my house and back yard.  The whole time my contractions kept getting stronger and stronger.  One big difference between labor with Augie and Ignatius, is that Augie's labor took a lot longer (18 hours) but the pre-transition contractions were a lot more manageable.  With Ignatius, the total time from "knowing I was in labor" to birth was only about 6 hours, but the contractions that got me there were much harder to deal with.  At 7:30 on the dot, Forrest, who had been splitting attention between Augie and myself, suggested that Aug be put to bed early since he skipped his nap.  Usually he goes to bed between 8 and 8:30, but I told Forrest to just put him to bed right then.  Leslie had mentioned earlier that she felt like I wouldn't be able to let go until Augie was taken care of, and she was absolutely correct.  I am a very mental person (insert joke here), and Augie is of particular importance to me.  He is one of the main reasons I wanted a home birth-- I knew that if he was being taken care of outside our home, I would be thinking about it the whole time and worried.  Yes, I am an overprotective weirdo.  There are worse things to be.  Right as Forrest was putting Augie to bed, Leslie broke my water and I was at a 7.  Between 7:30 and 8:10, I went from a 7 to a "here-is-your-baby".  I will leave out the particularly graphic details, but I can't tell this story without admitting that I ended up pushing while sitting on the toilet.  I kept pleading with Leslie that I didn't want to be one of those people who had their baby in a toilet, and she assured me that when he was coming out they would lift me and she would NOT let him be a toilet baby.  I then (in my perpetual neuroses) moved on to worrying that he would fall out on the floor.  She assured me that he would NOT fall on the floor, and she would catch him.  Okay.  Breath.  Push.  Push a few more times.  I was exhausted at this point and told Forrest and Leslie (who were both standing in front of me in the tiny toilet room of our bathroom) that I just really wanted to go to bed and lie down and that when this was over I was going to lie in bed all night with my baby and be so happy it was all finished.  They told me when I was done I could do just that, which I was happy to hear.  A few minutes later, in a position halfway between standing and squatting, I pushed out first Ignatius's head and then his shoulders.  Leslie handed him to me and I made a fast exit to my bed.  Later Leslie and Diane would laugh that they had never seen a woman move so fast after pushing out a baby, and I must have been really serious about going to bed.  Ignatius Roman Womack came out weighing 9lbs 11oz, yet I needed no stitches this time around.  Phew!  The whole recovery from his birth has been entirely different than with Augie.  I am absolutely in love with him, as are Forrest and Augie.  He has Forrest's pouty lip and handsome nose, and more of an olive skin tone than Augie or myself.  He is a good sleeper and makes goose honks when he is hungry.  Augie loves to talk about "our baby" and give him kisses.  We are so happy to have grown our family, and so blessed that our home birth went incredibly well.

36 Weeks Pregnant

This is me at about 36 weeks pregnant with Ignatius.
Today was my home visit for the home birth and I got checked. The results were: 50% effaced, -2 station, and 1 cm dilated. Exciting!  : )

Augie at Two Years Old

A couple weeks late but I finally had the time, good weather, and help to get Augie's "two year" pictures done. He is a rather difficult subject to capture, but luckily his papa was there to help get a good smile. Besides, the wiggle worm shots really do describe his two-year-old self best.   : )

ABC Appointment ~ 28 Weeks

Today I had my blood drawn to test for gestational diabetes and it was brought to my attention that I have gained 7 lbs each month for the past two months. Yowza. Maybe I will lay off the second dinners and late night pints of ice cream. Here is to will power! 

Tomorrow is Augie's second birthday and I am just so bewildered. TWO? Really? AND I am going to have another little love to hug on soon? Life has been blessing after blessing, but it all seems to fly by. For his birthday we are taking him to see Monsters University in the park on Friday and bringing a pizza and cupcakes for our picnic. 

Stats!

Weight Gain: 17lbs

Cravings: Grapefruit and fast food. 

Sleep: Love it. .

Moods: Pretty good, albeit sometimes lazy/tired.  

What I am looking forward to: Finding out out what Ignatius looks like!

Milestones: Making lists and preparing for the birth. Very excited, less scared. 

ABC Appointment ~ 23 Weeks AND Another Year Older

I got to meet a new (almost) midwife this week (Terry), who will be finishing up and joining the ABC team soon. Very exciting stuff, especially since I liked her so much. She really helped me to take the last edge off of my birth fears while we were talking. Lately I have been getting into the head-space of "this is happening" and "you can do this", but there is obviously always fear of the unknown. She has three little girls and said each subsequent birth was a little easier, and went into a little detail about why, which just really made me feel strong. My belly seems to have gone through a growth spurt in the last week or two, which also makes everything feel more real.

These maternity pictures that Sarah kindly took lead me to the second topic: I had a birthday! Number 28 to be exact, and I spent it in College Station. We were there for my new Goddaughter/niece Rose's baptism, which was lovely. Saturday night after visiting with family I came back to Hannah's to put Augie to bed and they had a cheesecake, several gifts and even some balloons! Super fun time, and super great friends. 

Introducing Ignatius Roman...

Today was sonogram day and we found out that we are the proud parents of a new baby boy! I can't tell you how thrilled I am to think of Augie and a brother, being rough and tumble play-mates for life. Here is the evidence: 

It was kind of funny how the sonographer went on and on about how "obvious" his male parts were. "There is no mistaking that penis and those testicles!" Haha. Forrest may have looked a little proud. 

She told me that I have a fundal placenta, which means it is attached way at the top. That explains how early I felt kicking and how frequently I still do!

Only 20 weeks to go...if that! Woo hoo!