Saturday, December 29, 2007

SPLISH! SPLASH!

This morning when PJ woke up I noticed something different about him... I COULD SEE HIS BELLY BUTTON!!! The last remaining piece that attached him to me had fallen off!

That meant that tonight was also his FIRST REAL BATH!!!
As you can see, he wasn't too happy about it....
Mimi left today, and Daddy Hartman came to meet PJ for the 1st time. It was so cool to see his other grandfather holding him, and to also see how much they look alike!



Thursday, December 27, 2007

2 week check-up

Today was PJ's 2 week checkup. James, my mom and I all took bets on his weight and length...



Here were the guesses:

Mommy- 7 pounds, 10 ounces; 20 inches long

Daddy- 8 pounds, 1 ounce; 20 3/4 inches long

Mimi- 8 pounds even; 20 1/4 inches



AND THE WINNER IS... (Drum Roll please......)



MOMMY!!!!!!! He is 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 inches long. I was only 1 ounce off!!!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Baby's 1st Christmas

December 25, 2007

Friday, December 14, 2007

Going home...

On Friday, December 14th at around 8PM we were finally released to go home! The past 3 days had been exceptionally tiring and we were just ready to get our little man home and sleep in our own beds! We had lots of visitors while we were in the hospital... Ryan, Stephanie, Brady and Layci all drove up the day after he was born and surprised us! They drove all that way only to leave the next morning to take the kids to a Very Merry Christmas at Disney. It meant so much to us that they came to meet PJ!

Here is the proud daddy holding PJ just before leaving the hospital

Strapped into his carseat and ready to go home!
After getting home we gave PJ a sponge bath- he wasn't to happy about it!
My little froggy

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

DECEMBER 12, 2007- The best day of my life

I woke up at 7AM when my nurse Karen came back for shift change. I had a different nurse during the night, but Karen requested me back to be her patient that day. (which I was super happy about). She took the Cervadil out and told me I could take a shower before they started me on pitocin. I had a totally relaxing shower, and took my time getting ready. I knew it was the last time, for a long time, that I would have a worry-free- take as long as I want-wash my hair 6 times if I feel like it- shave my legs- kind of shower. I even blowdryed my hair and put a little makeup on. It was, after all, the day I would meet my son face to face after dreaming of it for so long!!!
After I was all cleaned up, Karen hooked me up to the monitors, started my IV, and at 9am the pitocin drip began...
Marie, James and I played cards while every 30 minutes Karen would come in and turn up the drip. I sat on a birthing ball and was out of bed as much as possible because I knew once I asked for an epidural, I would be bed-bound. As the contractions began to get stronger, James would sit behind me and rub my back as I tried my best to remember all the breathing techniques I'd learned from the childbirth class we had taken the week before. (Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?) Around 12:30 Dr. McKinnie came in to check my cervix. (We were really fortunate that she was the on-call dr. that day and would be able to deliver PJ) Those birthing balls really do work.... I was dialated 4 cm and completely thinned out. Up to this point I needed no pain medication and I was so proud of myself for dealing with it all. Since I had made such good progress she decided to break my water... WOW! I went from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds. As soon as I felt that warm fluid, I also felt the most intense pains I have ever felt in my life. Karen told me to tell her when I was ready for an epidural.... James helped me get through that contraction, and I told him he better get the nurse cause I was not going through one of those again... When Karen walked in, my words to her, verbatim, were, "Hell to the naw. I need an epidural!" Off she ran to get the anesthesiologist. She came back with him in under 2 minutes! I signed the consent and next thing I know, the bed is being raised super high and he is getting everything ready. I had another contraction during this time, and James was so great at helping me get through it. I rounded my back, and held on to James as the anesthesiologist told me everything he was doing. Lots of pressure... but no pain... He told me that he was going to send a test dose through the catheter to make sure it was in right, and that I was probably going to feel really itchy starting at my toes, and slowly moving upward. He assured me that this was NOT an allergic reaction... BAM! Medicine goes through and instantly my body relaxed and I was pain free. Epidurals are heaven sent, and now I definitely see why they are so worth it!!!! I laid down in the bed and felt so relaxed I shut my eyes for a few brief moments... My mom and dad got there shortly after I got my epidural. I bet they were happy they didn't have to deal with all the contractions/epidural stuff!
(Epidural in and feeling no pain... my last photo with PJ in my belly!)

When you get an epidural you have to flip around to different sides so that the epidural numbs everywhere, and not just in one spot. I laid on my back for a bit, flipped to the right, flipped to the left and WOAH! What the heck was that! I told my nurse that my body felt like it was starting to push... She decided she would check me, and oh my goodness, I was 7 cm. I dialated 3 more cm in about an hour! A short while later, the urge to push got even stronger... She checked me again and I was 9 cm! She began to prep everything for PJ's arrival. I couldn't believe it was happening so fast. At around 3:30 she checked me again and I was 10cm... ready to push!!! HERE WE GO!!!!!
I felt like I was pushing for an eternity... everyone was so great though! After about an hour an a half of hard pushing- with James, mom, dad, Marie, and Sheena by my side, and my sissy on the phone- at 5:08 pm on December 12, 2007 Patrick James Hartman was born.

He was 7 pounds, 2 ounces- 19.5 inches with a head full of black hair. He was absolutely perfect! Dr. McKinnie plopped him right up on my belly and he felt so warm. I will never forget that feeling... I was so proud of James because he cut the cord! That was the one thing he swore he wouldn't do, but when it came down to it, he stepped up! :-)
I got to hold PJ for about an hour before they took him to weigh him and bathe him. During that time I probably counted his fingers and toes a hundred times. I tried to nurse him, but from all the excitement he wasn't hungry just yet.

PJ getting all checked out by the nurses and just before getting his bath.

Our wonderful nurse Karen holding PJ after his bath

We stayed in the Labor and Delivery room for probably close to 3 more hours while the epidural wore off. We finally got moved to our Mother/Baby room around 8PM. The night was kind of rough because it was a little difficult to get up and move around. You don't realize how sore your muscles are from twisting your body in ways you didn't know were possible while in labor, especially when you have an epidural and you don't feel your leg nearly wrapping around your head...But oh boy, it hits you later on. It was like that first soreness you get when you start working out again- the one that takes you 3 or 4 days to get over- only this soreness was 20 times worse. I also had a lot of bleeding, so all night long nurses were coming in to push on my belly and make sure there were no clots... None of those things mattered though... I was so happy!
I don't think I ever slept that night because I was in complete awe of the little miracle I had just given birth too...





Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The beginning of my birth story...

December 11, 2007 started off just like any other day. I woke up, took a shower, got dressed, and dragged myself to work. I got through most of the day and at about 1:00 I began to feel really dizzy. I sat down for the rest of the afternoon because I knew that I was going for my weekly OB checkup at 3:00. When I finally got to the doctor it seemed like an eternity before they called me back. The nurse weighed me like normal and then I sat down for her to take my blood pressure. When she finished, her eyes got really big, and she told me what it was... 165/100. Oh.my.gosh.... Immediately I began to shake because I knew that was really dangerous. We went into the exam room and waited patiently for Dr. McKinnie. She came in and sort of gave me this look... All I remember her saying was, "Well Stephanie... Your pressure is really high. You are 38 weeks pregnant and there is no reason for us to keep you pregnant any longer. Do you have your bags with you? I am sending you to the hospital to have your baby." WHAT? WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY? I left my students just an hour before telling them I would see them tomorrow... and now I couldn't even go home, get my things together and let it set in that I was gonna have the baby!!! The room seemed to move in slow motion and I could feel my face getting super hot. I had whined and complained for the previous 2 weeks about how I just wished he would come already, not really expecting to get my wish and have it happen so soon.

Within minutes, Dr. McKinnie had some paperwork for us and we were on our way to Labor & Delivery. Walking into the building was surreal... I knew that the next time I walked out of there, and the next time I got into my car, PJ was going to be with me. We got upstairs and gave the lady at the desk our paperwork. I had been there so many other times that there was nothing for us to fill out... nothing for us to do except sit and wait for a room.

What seemed like 3 days (but was probably only 30 minutes) passed and a sweet nurse by the name of Karen called us back. She brought us to our room, and gave me the hospital issued stylish nightwear (AKA hospital gown), hooked me up to the monitors, and then started the induction at about 7pm. She inserted Cervadil behind my cervix and said I had to keep it in for 12 hours to thin out my cervix to get it ready for the next day. James, Marie and I chatted for a while and watched tv. I finally asked for something to help me sleep since I knew the next day would be a long one... I drifted off to sleep, and before I knew it... it was morning!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Calm & Bright....

A little bit of Jess' CALM & BRIGHT... Hard to do all those things when you have a baby due on December 23rd... BUT, here it goes...
HOUSE DECORATED..... CHECK!Christmas gifts.... purchased and wrapped... CHECK!

Full term baby in my belly.... CHECK! Now if only he could just hurry up and get here... I have a feeling it will be happening sooner rather than later... STAY TUNED!