eat, sleep, & poop

It's been 10 day's since Sophia arrived and 7 day's since we've been home. I think it's fair to say we've both learned a lot in these last 7 days not only about taking care of an infant but also about each other.

Sophia's growing quickly right before our eyes. She's managing to hold her head up on her own for a moment and is rolling over on her own. She's a strong little girl, fighting for her fingers to reach her mouth with all her might.

Today we went to our 1 week appointment. We were able to visit with 3 out of the 4 doctors while we were in the hospital so today we met the 4th. We're still 20 in long and 7lbs 11oz but the doctor said she's absolutely perfect!

SHE'S HERE!

Sophia Rose Patton
5/5/2009 3:14pm
8lbs and 3oz

details about labor later!

EDIT:
&& Now for some free time for anyone who missed the delivery. Monday night we went in for an inducement @ 7pm. I was at first given cytotec which was done about every 4 hours to help my cervix dilate & efface. At around 7:30am I was given a pitocin drip to make my uterus contract. The contractions started coming in more frequently and a lot stronger with the pitocin. I went from being at a manageable pain level at around 3:30am to suddenley getting an epidural at around 9:30am. Just in that 6 hours alone I'm not sure how I managed to handle the pain. It was just as how I expected it to be and I wanted to continue to manage it on my own but because my Dr. was going to be breaking my water in the afternoon she stressed that in order for me to make it through to delivery I was going to need an epidural. I wasn't going to fight her on that one since obviously she knows a little more about labor & delivery then I do so I took the epidural. Automatically I felt relief but I also felt nothing at all. I wasn't able to feel or even detect an contractions but they were getting more frequent (at about 1 minute apart) and they were measuring a lot stronger. My water was broken around noon and some decisions needed to me made. The monitor that measurred my contractions was not giving us an accurate reading. My Dr. wasn't able to tell if the reading was off or if the contractions weren't progressing as we thought so she did an internal reading of the contractions to verify the progress. Once this was done she was able to find out that not only were the contractions doing their job and progressing but also that they weren't going to help with the fact that after almost 12 hours I was not dilated past 3 cm. I was given the option to either wait it out and try to see if I would progress (knowing that I was on the highest dosage of pitocin already) or to sign a consent for a cesearen section. I agreed to sign the consent but told them I wanted to continue for at least another 2 hours. During that 2 hours I knew nothing would change but needed to let my body continue trying. Making the decision to opt for the cesearen was a very difficult one to make but ended up being my only option. Just before 3pm I was wheeled off to the OR and at 3:14pm Sophia was delivered.

Looking back at the days events I was still devestated at how the delivery went. Brandon & I planned for a natural vaginal delivery, focusing on delivering Sophia in the best way as possible and coping with the pain with help from each other. We spent almost 9 months preparing for a somewhat unexpected outcome but knew that our birth plan wasn't guarenteed. Overall we're completely satisfied with the outcome because that outcome is Sophia! She's everything we expected her to be plus a little more cuteness! I think we're still trying to grasp the concept that we're parents but we're loving every minute of it and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives watching her grow and become the amazing woman we know she will be.

I'd like to thank everyone who made it out to the hospital to visit and witness Sophia's birth. Your love and support was what helped us make it through the beautiful and emotional event. We could not ask for a better group of friends and family!

as always,
Rachel, Brandon &&&&& Sophia!

!!!!

Coming Soon...
Sophia Rose Patton

Counting down

Just a few more days and Sophia will be here!

Last month was Sophia's baby shower. I was completely surprised at the amazing turn out we had. We were able to get most of the necessities we needed and more. It's already obvious that Sophia's going to be one spoiled girl.

Aunt Lesley, myself, & Aunt Sara

It's been a busy last couple weeks with some unexpected events.
A few weeks ago we were seen at labor & delivery for false labor.
It was our first "oops" for going in too soon.

Later that week was Jeremy and Lesley's wedding.
We had a great time getting to see everyone and of course getting to see Jeremy & Lesley celebrate their love for each other.

Brandon & I outside the wedding

I decided to go on my leave a few day's early to catch up on some much needed rest and to be able to focus on getting things ready around the apartment. Unfortunately on Thursday I was involved in an accident after taking Brandon to work. Sophia & I were checked and treated back at labor & delivery and were released just a few hours later saying we were safe to go home. Fortunately since the accident was not my fault our car will be ready for us next week and in the mean time we were provided with a rental car all for free.

Now we play the waiting game....

9 long glorious months...

& it's almost over

Despite all the aches & pains, frequent trips to the bathroom, nausea, and daily heartburn I'm going to miss my time with you and only you.

Now hurry up and finish growing, we're way too anxious to meet you.

Almost There!

We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or maybe that's just the flashlight. We had our 35 week appointment which included an ultrasound. From the ultrasound we were able to see that she's as healthy as can be however because of her size (6lbs and 7oz) we're a week ahead! Just from my understanding our due date of May 9th will still stand but unfortunately they will not let you deliver 9lb babies anymore so if my uterus size continues to measure ahead we'll likely be induced around May 1st. By all means this is not a problem for any of us cause we're ready as can be!


EDIT:
Video from ultrasound

Either 32 or 34 weeks along now..

We went to the doctor just the other day at 31 weeks and 5 days and once again my uterus is measuring "large". Our doc isn't too concerned about Sophia's size since at our last ultrasound she measured underweight, so we won't know exactly the reasons why my uterus measures "large" until our last ultrasound in 4 weeks. However this could mean our due date is off, or she could be just a big healthy baby. Only time will tell, and mom's not a patient person.

Tiny Dancer... or Soccer Player

Sophia's growing along quite nicely! We're visiting the doctor every other week now which means the end is near! We last visited the doctor at 27 weeks and 3 days and we measured at 28 cm. Here's some evidence of all the moving Sophia does to keep me awake!

family of 5?

Let's just say it's pretty obvious that Olive and Liam are starting their bonding experiences with Sophia before anyone else can.

time's moving by so fast

We're 25 weeks down with 15 weeks to go (give or take)! It doesn't seem like it's been this long but we still can't get time to move faster! We've gone from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a rutabaga with us being just over a foot long. Still have much much more growing to do before we're ready to meet everyone.
We've reached a new milestone this week, Dad got to feel Sophia move for the first time! We watched her move my skin as she rolled over and put on a show for Dad to see! Childbirth classes started this week as well. Unfortunately with all the reading we've already done we're not sure there's much for us to learn besides what to expect during labor.

On another note, we're getting married! No date set and no rush to even think about setting one we're just informing ourselves as well as everyone else that we're in this for the long run!

Everybody was kung fu fighting...

weeks 17 to 23

Everyone always told me from the beginning how amazing it will be once I can start to feel her move and now I'm realizing what it's all about. Lately we like to wake up and do some karate as soon as Mom gets home from work and wants to relax and then again before bedtime and bright and early to wake her up. It's reassuring and also fun to feel her move all about in there. Soon everyone else will be able to feel what I'm feeling on the inside and then Dad won't be so jealous.

still developing

We're starting this blog to keep our friends and family up to date with Sophia's life. She still has four more months to finish developing before she's ready to greet us all and we couldn't be more excited.