More details

Still no name, though we are working with a tentative title right now. For those craving details, it was actually quite a smooth birth -- at least from my perspective! Sarah started contractions around 7 PM yesterday -- very mild, but pretty regular. By midnight, they were 3-5 minutes apart and getting more painful, so we went to the hospital.

Throughout the night, contractions were still regular and getting more painful, though not too terribly bad (says Sarah . . . maybe a 4 or 5 on a scale of 10). At six, they broke her water and then the pain really kicked in. Soon thereafter, the epidural was requested and in place. By 10 AM she was ready to roll, and by 11:08 he was out and crying like a baby.

The pediatric nurses assumed before he arrived that he would not be big enough to go to the regular newborn nursery, but he checked in at almost 6 pounds and just under 19 inches, so he got to go play with the big kids. Reports from the nursery say that he was pretty much running the show down there within 15 minutes.

Anyway, he just farted (that's my boy), so I better go check his diaper.

He's Here!!!

Baby boy David, who shall remain nameless for now, arrived one month early at 11:08 AM. 5 pounds, 14.5 ounces.

Enjoy the first round of pictures.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Three years ago today Eric and I tied the knot! Tonight, we celebrated by going out for a very nice dinner and doing a little reminiscing about that day. Then we came home and Eric hit the books while I propped up my puffy feet. No gifts. No champagne. But no baby, either. . . . although it seemed like that might not be the case earlier today.

Three years ago this morning, I was running a couple of last minute wedding errands and wishing I'd decided to make my own bouquet so I'd have a little more with which to busy myself. This morning, I was trying to decide if my water had broken. What a difference!

I'll spare you the details about what made me think that my water might have broken, but I will say to those of you who don't know, it's not always as clear cut as one might think. So I called my doctor who had me come on in to the hospital. As it turns out, my water (I don't know why I say "my" water since it's the baby's*) remains unbroken. I have dilated a little more, but otherwise, not much has changed since my last hospital and office visits.

I must say that while I don't plan to make a habit of it, it was very refreshing to finally go to the hospital and be sent home!

Otherwise, things remain quiet here, but we'll keep you posted!

*Really. It belongs to the baby, 100%... amniotic fluid is actually baby pee. And to date, that's the most entertaining pregnancy fact I've learned.

driving that train . . . ok, just driving that car

and not high on cocaine. (I had to give that up 35 weeks ago.)

So I gave the silver bullet a little workout this morning by driving myself 3.5 miles round trip to the doctor's office for a check up!! I think I made good use of my time and effort... zipped through a yellow light, used the rolling stop, probably sped a little bit, etc. It felt good.

And the check up felt even better. Baby David's heartbeat was very good and he gave the stethoscope a healthy kick. But the best news is that I get to stop my blood pressure medicine early! I needed a new prescription to get me though the scheduled stop date of 36 weeks, so I told the nurse practitioner that, but I also suggested that if she was ok with it, I was perfectly happy to go off it when this bottle is empty (Thursday night) as opposed to taking it all the way to Tuesday. She said she'd ask a doctor, but she thought they'd want me to go all the way to 36 weeks and she even went ahead and wrote the prescription.

So when the doctor came by, he jumped up, clapped his hands and shouted, "You're still pregnant!" After he settled down, the nurse practitioner asked him about the Procardia, and he said, "Oh, let it run out! Go have fun! Have a baby!" Then he and some other nurses started joking that they'd be inducing me at 42 weeks, but the np just rolled her eyes and said, "doubtful; you'll see her at the hospital this weekend."

Baby David is continuing to move lower, so the np might be right, but whenever he comes, I'm really glad to have seen the doctor's happy and positive reaction about his arrival. Believe me, it's very refreshing and reassuring to see a smiling face rather than a frown and creased forehead when the doctor is talking about your potentially imminent labor and delivery. We'll keep you posted!

big time

We went to Target today, and amazingly, we made it there and back without having the baby! I was afraid Eric would try to make me use a wheelchair, or worse yet, a scooter, but he didn't. He even put up a good front and pretended to be calm while I walked around the store!

We'll reach the 35-week mark tomorrow, so only one more week of bed rest, although obviously I probably went a bit beyond "you can be a little more active" with today's outing. But this trip to Target is the only time I've remotely approached "cheating," so I think I've done a good job of following the rules.

Baby David continues to feel like he's moving lower, and he's gotten big enough that his movements have changed. He has periods of vigorous activity and hiccuping, but he also has longer quiet spells. I feel him rotate more than kick, but when he is kicking, the punches don't have a lot of geographic variety. He basically kicks in the same locations now that he's gotten himself jammed upside down!

I think he probably feels like a polar bear at the zoo swimming in circles. My cousin gave me a book called Ma! There's Nothing to do in Here! and I'm pretty sure that's how he feels at this point!

amazing!

I'm going out into the "real world" for the third night in a row! We went to TCBY on Thursday evening, and last night, Eric and I went to Spice Street for dinner. Tonight we're meeting Greg for another meal out! That's huge!

all's quiet

Baby David is still baking, and Eric has started his bar review class, so my days have gotten a lot quieter.

Yesterday, we received a beautiful rocking chair that Marlene got when she was expecting Eric. At that time, two weeks before Eric's due date, she moved it outside and started refinishing it, but she soon went into labor. We even have a picture of Brian holding his new brother in the partially stripped chair!

Last night, after we got it unpacked, I sat down in it only to remember that story and jump back up! (And I'm being extremely figurative when I say "jump" at this point.) The chair looks great in the nursery, but as a precaution, I won't be gracing its seat until the new Mr. David is here.

still at home

Just a quick post to let you know we're still at home, and by "we" I mean just two of us.

and the winning name is...

The votes are in and Miles Raynor reigns!

Here's the final tally, which includes votes collected at the shower:

Miles Raynor: 19
Thomas Raynor: 11
Tobin Raynor: 11
Joseph Miles 7
Joseph Doc: 3
and poor Thomas Abdo: 0

Now the big question: Will we actually use the winning name?? . . . stay tuned.

And as a footnote to the poll, here are some answers to your name-origin questions:
Miles and Thomas do not have family ties for us; we just liked the names. Tobin is a variation on Toby, which is the name of Eric's father and paternal grandfather. Joseph and Abdo are Eric's maternal grandfather's first and middle names, and Abdo is Eric's maternal great-grandfather's name. Doc is the nickname for Sarah's maternal grandfather. Raynor is Sarah's father's middle name and that of her paternal grandfather. It's also used for several other ancestors on Sarah's paternal side.

Thanks for voting!

Happy 34th Week!

We just returned from an uneventful check-up. Baby David's heartbeat remains nice and strong, and she confirmed my sense that he's moved lower. They made no predictions on when he might arrive, but we did get confirmation that I can have a little more activity now! . . . so where to go for lunch today?!

34 weeks is within reach!

When the doctor put me on bedrest (back on April 18), I thought it would never end. I believe, in a fit of antsy frustration a few days into it, I even called bedrest a death sentence, but the lethargy-inducing blood pressure medicine and the visits, emails, phone calls, books, and dvds from family and friends helped ease my misery.

Now, amazingly, we've finally reached the eve of the magic 34 week mark! At this point, Baby David should be in really good shape whenever he comes. His chances of having breathing troubles are very slim now and hopefully, he'd be able to suck and therefore not need to be tube-fed. There is even an outside chance that if he comes in the next few days, he might not need any extra nursery time and he could come home when I'm discharged.

Eric and I are very proud of getting him this far, and everyone who has helped us (even if it was just voting in one of our blog polls so we could see the numbers increase!) should share in the accomplishment!

After tomorrow, I can be up and about a little bit more. I can't go back to the gym, and given the mushy state of my muscles, I couldn't or shouldn't even if the doctors ok-ed that, but I can at least be off the sofa more than I can right now. Maybe I can even get a hair cut this week! If he still hasn't come in two more weeks, I might even get back to work or at least get back to walking a lot more.

So thanks to everyone who helped us get this far!

check out the new poll!

With only 3 more days left to vote for Baby David's name, we've added another entertainment element for you, so scroll down the right side of your screen and make your guess about Baby David's birthday!

a couple of picutres

John, Eric, and Marlene at graduation

Eric and Sarah before graduation

Marlene and Eric pre-graduation

Linda and Aunt Judy displaying Judy's gift to Baby David at the tea Marlene hosted

Sarah and parents at Marlene's tea

still here

We're still hanging out at home (yeeeaaah!), and Eric installed blinds and curtains in the nursery. Over the last two days, we've enjoyed visits from Erika + twins, Betsy + kids, Ingrid, and my parents + Winston. Winston has been staying in Germanton with his grandparents so we wouldn't have to keep calling them to come get him during hospital stays, but we are enjoying a overnight visit from him tonight!

nursery pictures and an update from the doctor

In nursery news, it's complete for the moment! We're waiting for a changing table to be delivered in a couple of weeks, and we'll be exchanging the white chair with a rocking chair. Also, I'm working on some art for the walls.

In doctoring news, we had a check-up this morning that was notable for two reasons: first, we actually kept the appointment. We've canceled the last few because we were in the hospital. And second, we came home after the appointment; our last office visit ended with us headed to the hospital. I've regained almost all the weight I lost during the first hospital stay, and the baby's heartbeat sounded perfect.

The only not-so-great-news was that once we reach the 34 week mark (this coming Tuesday!) I won't be restriction-free. But I won't be as confined as I am now: I'll be allowed some light activities around the house and activities that involve sitting, like going to a movie or out for a meal. On the one hand, that's more than I can do now, and I'm pretty excited about the prospect of being up and about a bit more, but I was really hoping for a walk!

the nursery is underway!

Hooray for Marlene and Eric! On Monday and Tuesday, they emptied the office out and put the crib together while I supervised. Right now, we have a painter hard at work transforming the scuffed and banged-up white walls to a nice baby yellow. Given the way things have gone, we're trying not to get too excited about the prospect of the nursery actually coming together as planned, but slowly, things are starting to look good in there.

The Big Scam

Over the course of almost four weeks of pre-term labor, six nights in the hospital, and countless doctor check-ups, it has come to my attention that the OB profession may be perpetrating a massive fraud on the women of the world. And they seem to be buying it hook, line, and sinker.

For those who have not seen or experienced this, every once in a while a doctor comes into the room and asks Sarah if he/she can "check her cervix." He/she dons a glove, pokes around for a few seconds, furrows his/her brow, and then announces: "You are 2 centimeters." Sometimes, it is more precise -- "You are between 2 and 3 centimeters."

I ain't buying it. No way can they tell so accurately what is going on in there without the help of a ruler, tape measure, caliper, altimeter, sextant, laser level, ANYTHING. Just using their magic fingers, they can somehow measure someone's cervix down to the fraction of the centimeter. And on this information, major decisions are made. Is this seriously the best that modern medicine can do? Technology allows us to see a baby's heart beat as clear as day at 6 weeks, but we still rely on the OB equivalent of "Abracadabra" to assess how close the baby is to being born?

If I didn't like Sarah's doctors so much, I might think they were just making it up as they go. I'm just saying...

Happy Graduation and Happy Mother's Day!

Eric graduated today! Yeeeaaah! Marlene and Daddy attended graduation while Mama did her motherly duty on Mother's Day and stayed at the house with me. I was very nervous that I would go into labor during graduation, but Mama and I had a quiet afternoon, and Eric returned with some video clips of the ceremony.

I, and both our families, are so very proud of him, and I know he's relieved and excited to be finished!

We will post some clips from graduation and from yesterday's tea, but right now, we're getting ready to have a storm, so it's time to shut off the computer.

fyi

It's Saturday night and we are still at home! Marlene hosted a delightful family tea this afternoon (pictures will be forthcoming) and I only had a small number of contractions (well within the "acceptable" range).

a quiet Friday . . . so far

Eric is on the way back from picking up his mom from the airport. Marlene is in town until Wednesday for Eric's graduation, but her visit is also having the added benefit of helping us begin to organize the transformation of the office to a nursery, and she'll provide welcome entertainment to both of us!

Otherwise, we're settling in to a new outlook. Now that we are beyond the point of labor intervention, we don't need to keep running back to the hospital every time contractions get started up. We're now just waiting for contractions to become very frequent and painful, signaling the start of official labor.

While we hope he stays put for many more weeks, having a plan that involves ignoring the random contractions and even those that come in little groups, is much easier on us mentally.

how you know you've watched too much tv

1. You've seen so many "He went to Jared" commercials that you start to think you might name your kid Jared.

2. Twenty-two seconds into every single Law & Order episode on TNT, your spouse says "seen it," checks the episode on USA, and says "seen it" again.

3. In flipping channels, you pause for less than 30 seconds on a stand-up comedy performance by Jeff Foxwothy and then more than 24 hours later, you're flipping channels again and land at the exact same spot in the same Foxworthy routine.

liars! but in a good way this time

We're still at the hospital, but we're just waiting for the wheelchair so we can head home a day earlier than expected! And we get to stay home until contractions are painful and Baby David really is on the way. That could be tomorrow or it could happen around July 1, but at least we don't have to keep coming back all the time!

still here, still holding on to Baby David

My contractions have eased off again, but I have dilated a bit more and the baby's now engaged, which means he's moved down a bit. . . like he's standing up from dinner, leaving his tip, and getting his jacket on, but he's not all the way to the door quite yet.

I'm here for at least 48 more hours. After that, if I'm not dilated more, I can go home. If I'm dilated more, I'm probably here until he comes. Given our past experiences, I'm settling in for the long haul this time, although given his apparent eagerness, it might not be such a long haul!

Besides being worried for his sake about his likely early arrival and beginning to get a bit scared for my sake about labor itself, we're holding up pretty well.

Just when I thought I was out . . .

. . . they pulled me back in.

After a series of contractions around 5 today, we made another hospital run -- this time assuming we were going to stay. Things seem to have calmed down a bit, but Sarah is staying overnight for observation. She is obviously pretty frustrated, but happy to be at 32 weeks.

Keep her and the baby in your thoughts. Every day makes a difference.

a few more notes from the shower

A few pictures from the event . . .

some of the guests

Carson helps Mama open gifts as Sherry takes notes

another shot of the guests

Shower guests had an opportunity to vote for a name and here are the results:

Thomas Raynor: 4
Joseph Miles: 0
Tobin Raynor: 2
Joseph Doc: 1
Thomas Abdo: 1
Miles Raynor: 6

We had two other suggestions: Gray David and Page Woodard David, but it looks like Miles Raynor is pulling away from the pack... two more weeks of voting to go!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Today is Eric's birthday. How is he celebrating? By taking Winston to the vet, cooking, reminding me to take my medicine, and keeping my water cup full. Poor guy! We're not big birthday-celebrators, but we usually at least go out to eat. Maybe we can have dinner delivered tonight, and maybe I can get a card made for him before he returns from the vet!

Thanks for the great shower!

the baby shower

Right about now, some of my oldest and dearest friends and neighbors are wrapping up a baby shower in honor of us at Germanton Baptist Church. Caroline, Sherry, Paige, and Selwyn put it together and I cannot express how much I appreciate their effort and how sorry I am that it has to be an absent-mother shower.

At the moment, while my thoughts and heart are there with the hostesses and shower-goers, I'm trying not to think about all the friendly faces, hugs, and laughs I'm missing. We are very lucky to have so many people who love us and I wish more than any thing that we could have been among them today.

home again!

We were finally set free around noon today! I'm back on the procardia (the blood pressure medicine), which I don't like because it makes me feel out-of-it, like I've taken cold medicine, but hopefully it will keep contractions at bay for a few more days or, even better, a few more weeks.

Baby David does not seem to be phased by all the action. He has a great heartbeat, the doctors and nurses continue to marvel at his high activity level, and our amniotic fluid level looked great on the ultrasound this morning. All that is very reassuring in the event of an early delivery, so we continue to feel pretty good about our situation, despite some fears and our preference for an arrival that's closer to term.

liars!

As much as I like my doctors, one of the pitfalls of having a rotation of on-call doctors is the potential for mixed messages. My doctors on Thursday and Friday both kept saying we'd be out today (Saturday) if I had not dilated any more. But today's on-call doctor wants to keep me here for another 24 hours to observe how I do once I finish this round of medicine. So I'm still here even though my contractions are under control and I don't know if I've dilated farther.

My doctor delivered this news with a line something like, "I'd really hate for you to go home and then just turn around and come back tonight or tomorrow."

Interesting perspective. If he wants to think it's some huge burden to come and go, he's entitled to his opinions, but, frankly, I think he overestimates the difficulties involved. Let's give it some thought:

First, the drive is relatively short, only about 12 miles, and so far as I can tell, getting admitted just involves going through the ER, putting on a huge gown, and signing a form. . . .oh, and if you're Eric, it also involves parking the car near the Sleestaks' Lost City. Hhhuuuummm. So far, not that much work.

And now let's think about the benefits: I'd get to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air at the very least. Once at home, I could watch a dvd (thanks to the Williamson family's Netflix gift), take a shower without avoiding an IV port, partake of some of the delicious gifts that I hear have arrived from Christiansburg, VA, sleep in a dark room on a mattress that has its faults but at least is not made of heat-holding plastic, and maybe, just maybe I could eat something that's not made of meat and/or iceberg lettuce.

Call me crazy, but going home to wait and see if contractions re-start just doesn't seem like it would be that difficult. So now I'm absolutely not believing I'll get to go home as promised until I'm actually in a car that's pulling onto Erwin Road.

In the meantime, we're just hanging out here, taking care of Baby David and enjoying the hospitality if not the cuisine of Duke Hospital. As I said, the contractions are under control and nearly nonexistent at the moment, so for now, everything is quiet. Except for my complaints.

update from the hospital

Contractions have abated for the moment, and my doctor gave me hope for going home tomorrow. Given how things have gone every time a doctor has assured me I'll only be at the hospital for a couple of hours, I'm not sure how much faith I have in that, but we'll see.

The measuring stick (literally!) for going home is dilation. Once I finish the course of drugs I'm on now, I'll be discharged if I have not dilated any more. If I've dilated more, we'll be here a while longer: probably at least until 32 weeks (Tuesday), possibly all the way to 34 weeks, or until the baby comes.

If I finish the drugs and contractions start up again (whether that happens tomorrow or days or weeks later), they will probably not intervene. I can have one more round of the magnesium sulfate, but the longer I'm pregnant the more the risk-benefit ratio for that treatment makes using it again less viable. So treatment-wise, we're pretty much at the end of the line.

In terms of chances he'll actually come early, they have not made any hard statements, but it seems likely that we'll deliver sometime in the 30-something-week range. The doctor said this morning that I could end up carrying him to term, or even beyond, but that seems unlikely.

Obviously, an early delivery is not ideal, but every day we can keep him in helps. And given Duke's NICU, Baby David's estimated size (which was big at 3.5 lbs two weeks ago, but will be updated tomorrow), and the fact that he's already had a steroid to speed his lung development, his chances of needing only moderate or limited intervention if he does come early are very good. The NICU doctor was hopeful that he would only need to be kept warm until he fattens up a bit and possibly tube fed for a while. Chances he'll be on a ventilator are already pretty low.

So there's some good news and some scary news for you, but I don't think any of the news is horrible. As I said in an earlier post, we've come to have a lot of faith in our doctors and the staff here at Duke, so we're remaining calm and hopeful. Call, email, or come for a visit (here or at home) if you can.

we're back

I expected to post today about how good our check up was this morning. Silly me! What was I thinking: having expectations about this pregnancy! As soon as they put me on the monitor at the office this morning, contractions started up. So instead of a much-anticipated post-doctor's stop at a coffee shop, we were off to the hospital.

As it turns out, I had dilated just a little bit, so we're here for at least 2 nights so they can monitor me while they administer another contraction-arresting drug.

We met with a NICU doctor this afternoon, and he gave Baby David a very good prognosis even if he comes tonight, which is not a danger at the moment. But as we've known for a while now, 32 weeks is better (we'll reach that on Tuesday) and 34 weeks is even better. So keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming that we make at least one and preferably both of those milestones!

In the meantime, we have our cell phones, so give us a buzz, and we'll try to keep getting some updates up.