March 10,2010: The Big Day

Most of you already know, but Cole arrived Wednesday, March 10, 2010!

As soon as I have some time, I promise I will post lots of pictures. For now, here's the story of how little Cole got here.

Despite the fact that I wasn't really having steady contractions of any kind, I was dilating the week leading up to the 10th. Based on my progress, my doctor decided that we would induce labor. Brett and I got to the hospital at the very early time of 5am. We got settled in, I got my IV of petocin, and the journey began. I was already at nearly 5cm when we arrived, so the nurse told me I could have the epidural any time I wanted (and believe me, I had no plans of trying to do it naturally). My contractions went from a 3 on a scale of 10 to a 7 in no time. Needless to say I think I felt about 2 strong contractions and the epidural was ordered.

At first, I made really quick progress and word was I could deliver around noon. Then things slowed down. I was comfortable and took little naps, so I wasn't really bothered. I had gotten all the way to 9 cm but Cole wasn't moving down. In fact, he moved back up! So finally, at about 5pm, my doctor decided that we needed to do a c-section.

I had always told myself that I would let things happen as they needed to and would go along with what my doctor felt was best. I was surprised at how calm I was when the decision for the c-section was made, even though I hadn't planned on it at all. The most uncomfortable part for me was feeling numb from the neck down. I knew I was breathing, but I felt like I couldn't take deep breaths - which was a tad bit scary. The staff at the hospital was a dream. They kept reassuring me every step of the way.

Before I knew it I was being wheeled into the OR with Brett right by my side (and dressed like he was ready for a science experiment :) ). In what seemed like a heartbeat the c-section was underway and, all of a sudden, I heard a baby crying. Official time of delivery: 5:55pm. I could hear the doctors and nurses telling me that I had a beautiful baby boy. I have to admit I was a little out of it from the medicine and it wasn't fully registering what had just happened. I turned and got a peak at Cole before they whisked him away to clean and test him. Brett followed him to the nursery and the doctors began putting me back together. That seemed to be the longest part. I was shaky from the medicine and was just wanted to get in a comfy position and begin the recovery.

The doctor told me that Cole had turned on his side and that his head and shoulders were broad, just like his daddy. So in the end, I would have needed a c-section anyway. I still giggle every time I remember hearing the nurses say things like "look at all that hair!" and "he has a head just like his daddy!" At the end of the surgery I was wheeled to a recovery room. It took about 2 hours for me to regain feeling in my body with my feet, legs, and fingers last to come back to life.

Brett kept me company and we tried to be patient as we waited for our chance to hold Cole. He showed me the pictures he had taken and kept me posted on everything that was happening to Cole - his tests, first bath, etc. He also said we had the most visitors of anyone at the hospital! After what seemed like forever, I was taken to the private room where we would stay for the rest of our time in the hospital. All of our family was there waiting for me. It was about 10pm when they finally brought Cole in and I got to hold him and feed him. That's when it finally felt real! He spent time with everyone, which was fun to watch. So at the end of the day I had a beautiful 7lb 11 oz baby boy, 18.5''.

We stayed at the hospital until the 13th. The staff was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was nice to bring Cole home and begin settling in.

So far, things have been going as well as I could have hoped. Cole is such a good baby and really isn't too fussy at all. He's on about a 4 hour feeding schedule, which makes me a very lucky mommy. He gets both breastfed and formula and is a healthy, happy baby. I had originally wanted to feed him exclusively, but so far he needs both. I've decided to take things day by day and not worry about it. All I care about is that he's well fed and healthy.

I have to thank our families and friends for all the help and support. I know its made my recovery and adjustment so much easier. Every now and then my hormones get the best of me and I have an emotional moment, but again, I have lots of support.

Most of all, I have to say that Brett is an amazing daddy. Not that I ever doubted him, but I am so impressed at how naturally its all come for him. He's so good with the baby and even better at dealing with me! He is the most amazing partner and husband. Our first wedding anniversary is coming up on March 21st. I have to say, I got the best little present ever in Cole!

35 weeks and counting...

I'm officially 35 weeks today and I have to say I'm getting quite anxious for Cole to get here. I've had a very easy pregnancy but things are definitely beginning to get a bit tight in the tummy hotel.

I know this might sound strange, but this baby thing is still very surreal. Its hard to wrap my head around the fact that little Cole is only inches below my skin looking like a perfectly normal baby (instead of the alien he feels like). At this point he could already have my nose or Brett's eyes...it blows me away to think about. Putting together all his gear and having all his baby stuff around the house is starting to make it much more real, but I still find myself looking at it and getting excited to use it instead of being able to picture my baby in it. I'm sure this qualifies me as needing therapy.

I have to admit that I'm starting to get nervous about adjusting to life with baby, but I'm trying to be optimistic that things will go smoothly. Is it as scary as I imagine it to be? Will I really think his boogers are cute instead of totally gross? How will I know what's wrong when he's crying?

At this point, the only other question swirling around my little head is: Isn't there something Ican do to make him come out sooner rather than later???

Baby Shower

I know I'm a little biased, but Cole is going to be the cutest baby!

Why am I so confident? Because he got the greatest/cutest stuff at his baby shower! I love my family and friends - they certainly know how to spoil me and Cole :)

I had a blast at the baby shower. The theme for the shower was baby blocks. My friend Wendy had the most adorable cake made - jungle animals sitting on top of blocks. The top tier spelled out baby and the bottom layer had Cole's initials. There were also cupcakes that spelled out "Welcome Cole." It was yummy red velvet - my favorite! And as if the cake wasn't good enough, my mom had a spread that could rival any Vegas buffet.

To follow with the blocks theme, the favors were pastel colored blocks filled with blue and brown M&Ms. He'll probably never admit it, but a certain Grandpa Mario was put to work making the favors.

Speaking of fabulous grandparents, Cole's Grandma Lesa brought back a special outfit all the way from South Africa...featuring, of course, jungle animals. It just doesn't get any cuter!

As most of you know, I'm all about handbags. Arguably, it would be selfish to maintain this habit at the expense of being able to buy baby things. So the next best solution? If I can't have a designer handbag, I can have a designer diaper bag! Thanks to Laura and my parents, I am the proud new owner of a Petunia Pickle Bottom bag and clutch. If Cole is going to look like a Baby Gap commerical, I certainly can't be all frumpy!

And now for my favorite part of the shower:

Brett's grandma started a birthday tablecloth for Brett's uncle and cousin. Its full of pictures and decorations, and each year we write birthday messages on it. Its a great tradition and its fun to see it grow year after year.

Since I'm not big into baby shower games, we thought this would be a great tradition to start for Cole. My mom sewed fabric letters on the tablecloth for Cole's name and everyone got to write a message for him. Once he's here we'll add pictures and new messages to it every year!

So now we just wait for him to get here...its week 33, not that I'm counting :)

Cole's Room

Last weekend was my baby shower...more on that in an upcoming post. Thankfully, we have very generous friends who gave us all kinds of great baby gear! Now that we have all these great supplies, we've started to put together Cole's room. As you can see from the pictures, we're still in the early stages.

I'm very proud to say I put together most of his furniture all by myself with only limited supervision from Brett. We're still playing with the layout, and we have a few more furniture pieces to add, but things are coming together nicely. Seeing everything come together brought us to the realization that Cole will be here so soon! It actually freaked us out a little!

The theme for Cole's room is sports. Brett picked out his bedding and already has ideas to decorate the room with all things Dallas Cowboys. For my college friends: fear not; thanks to his Aunt Laura, he already has plenty of burnt orange Longhorn gear :)

So for now we're getting all his goodies organized and starting to wash his clothes, bedding, blankies, etc.

I can't believe we started a blog...

Since everyone wants all the latest baby news, I've finally given in and started a blog. I can't imagine that I'll have that much to say, but here goes...

Yes, we're a little late in the game. So here's a brief recap of Countdown to Cole:

I'm currently 30 weeks pregnant and surprised at how fast the time has gone! I know this will get me a lot of dirty looks, but things have been pretty easy so far. Thankfully, I didn't have any symptoms like morning sickness or swollen feet. I am getting pretty tired, but I figure that's nature's way of preparing me for the sleepless nights once Cole gets here.

Speaking of Cole, many have asked how we picked his name. I wish I could tell some sentimental tale of how we happened upon the name and said "I love it" at the same time, but that's not really how we operate. We each had our favorites picked out and, alas, it wasn't the same. So how does one end the stand off? Well since I couldn't argue my way into my choice (which is a total shame considering its what I get paid to do for a living), I decided the next best thing was to negotiate. I offered to go with Brett's favorite...at a price. When he decided my demands were too high, he agreed to pick Cole in exchange for some very lovely gifts. Like with most lawyer types, its all contractual! Of course, mommy will never tell Cole how easily his dad can be bought :)

So that's how our little blog begins...we've picked a name and now we're just waiting for little Cole's arrival!

P.S. For those of you who want belly pics, imagine a hot air balloon with arms and legs. Its bad enough I'm blogging. It'll take me a little longer to have the guts to post pics. Baby steps.