1 Month!

Wow! I can't believe it has already been a month! February, thank you for stealing a couple days from me! :/ Preston is growing so fast, I dont know whether to be happy because my baby boy is growing so big, or sad because I dont have pause button for the every minute I have with him! I go to thank Him and "Thank You" feels like an understatement, I don't know how to say thank you enough! I am so happy to finally have Preston in my life! I'm truly blessed!

At our two week check up with Kasie, Preston was in amazing shape and is growing like crazy! P was 11.7 lbs.! We will going back for our next appointment this week.

As far as things at home are going... they are GREAT! :) He is too funny and has the best personality! He has the greatest facial expressions and some orginal sounds that he likes to make when its business time. ;) I just love him!

We also have been blessed with a baby that LOVES to sleep atleast till 1130-12p! --Thank goodness and I personally cannot complain (hopefully I'm not jinxing anything). He is staying awake more throughout the day which again, I'm not complaining because now I get to hang out with the little guy instead of him just sleeping constantly throughout the day like he was when we first brought him home. Throughout the night, he usually only gets up maybe once or twice. He is just an amazing little guy though! :) I'm amazed everytime I look at him. God is great and it's amazing how He works! :)

We also got our slide show from the birth :) Thank you Lynsey!
Check it out! : www.dfwbirthphotographer.com/Preston.html

My Birth Story :)

So Preston Lee Austin Louder FINALLY made his appearance on February 9, 2010!-- but not without a fight thats for sure! :) He weighed in at 11lb 1oz and was 22 1/2in. long :)


Sunday (2/7/10--Super Bowl Sunday of course:)--Go Saints:)), I woke up at 8a with some contractions that hurt like HELL!... I knew something was up but wasnt really for sure, just knew I was almost 3 weeks overdue, and this kid HAD to come out sooner or later and since this was something different,... chances were it had to be good, right?

Earlier I had woken up about 3-4 times to go to the restroom with some pretty painful contractions but didnt really think twice about it considering I ALWAYS woke up with them when I went to the bathroom at night. After timing them for about an hour until 9, and being about 12-13minutes apart, I got into the shower to see if I could get them to die down a bit... After I got out of the shower I knew I had to call Kasie (my midwife) because something just off.... I text Kasie at about 9:45-10a and let her know that I had been having contractions and they felt like the worst period cramps I had ever had in my entire life! I literally was ready to die! She told me to time them for 30 minutes and then let her know how far apart they were... So 30 minutes roll right on by (1030a) and they were about 8-10min apart that lasted about 30-45sec. but I had a few that were off only lasting about 5-10sec. long.... so we decided that I would keep timing and every hour I would check in with her to updated her on the timing and how long they were....


At 1230ish I woke Sam up and told him that we were prob. going to be making a trip to the birthcenter because my contractions were getting closer together and something was different about these.... So he got into the shower and cleaned up a bit and after he got out I text Kasie (1p) and told her my contractions now were about 6-8 minutes apart for about a minute long... It was time to go to the birthcenter :) I was so overwelmed... I knew this time would come but I think everything at that moment everything hit me all at once and I just started balling.... lol I was so excited but nervous and couldnt believe that this was FINALLY happening....

So we get to the birthcenter at about 130-145ish and get checked out. He had completely dropped and I was at 80% thinned out... my contractions were still the same so we decided to wait it out a bit and we all went and ate at Olive Garden. Contractions were still coming strong but nothing that I couldn't control. So we get back to the birthcenter and I get checked out again and I had dilated about a centimeter... instantly I have a feeling this process is going to be a long one.... to be having contractions for the length of time I had been having them and finding out thats all the progress that I had made..... oh my gosh....

Everybody by that time is pretty anxious about us being at the center so they all arrived and joined the fun. By this time, we aren't doing anything out of the ordinary just sitting around cracking jokes making it through each contraction one at a time.... some more painful than others but usually lasting for the same amount of time. We checked again to see the progress and not much was made... I want to say I was at about a 2 or 3... So we decide to get on the bed and try a technique where I would lay on my right side for 2 contractions, head down and butt in air for 2 contractions and the on my left for 2 contractions. We did this a few times and the left side was not a fun one... the first one around was EXTREMELY nauseating. The second round on the left side, the real fun began.... half of Olive Garden was in a bowl. Not shortly after that everything that was in my system was out. I couldn't keep anything down at all. We tried crackers, juice, water and NOTHING was staying down so we took a break and tried to lay down and rest. At this point I can't really give details because I couldnt stay awake for any of it and it all ran together. My contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and somebody had to be there to press on my back for every one that I had so Sam definitely got a work out there along with everybody else that had the honors of doing that... :)

At about 2-230ish(am), I woke up with a contractions and I felt like I was about to pee the bed except I didnt really have the chance to think about it before it had already happened. I was already laying in a pile of gooey water it felt like... Sam instantly woke up anyways ready to press on my back but he was surrounded by it too (God love him). Obviously, my water broke. So by that time everybody in the house was awake and waiting to hear about the progress had been made.... nothing. I had dilated to about a 4 and he had completely dropped. Talk about depressing. So for the rest of the night, I sat on a ball and tried to patiently wait for 5 centimeters so I could move to the birthing pool. I dozed in and out and tried some juice to get a little bit of energy back which seemed to work. Not exactly sure what time we ended up in the pool but I'm assuming around 7 or 8ish... Again,... in and out the entire time. While in the pool the juice that seemed to work at first, ended up like everything else. Sam helped me relax during contractions and Megan and my mom alternated squeezing my hips together and pressing on my back. After a good while in the pool I got out and they checked me and I want to say after a good 5-7 hours, the progression was only to about a 7 1/2-8. So we tried to see if we could turn him (instead of being posterior- face up, to anterior- face down) by me leaning on a ball on the bed, butt up... thats about all I can honestly say that I remember. Sam was beside me talking to me so I wouldnt think about the pain and what was going on. Ill have to say, he's an amazing untrained doula :), I couldn't have done it without him! So after that, the plan was for me to move to the birthing chair and during a contraction Molly (head midwife) would try and thin me out a bit more and stretch my cervix out to the right dilation. Sounds painful, although that wouldn't quite be the word I would use to describe this feeling. With Sam behind me pushing my back of course and helping me through the pushing process. I pushed for what seemed like 10 minutes although I know it was longer than that because I made it through a million contractions it felt like. So we took a break and another midwife, Kim was called to help. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed making it through each contraction somehow and she massaged my hands and arms. So we tried the pushing thing again which only felt like about 30 minutes but a million contractions had gone by and the next thing I knew we were taking and break and it was completely dark outside. So we all layed down, Kasie, Sam and I in the room we were staying in and everybody else, where-ever they went I don't really have any idea. During this time all I can remember is Kasie and Sam trying to get me to eat something and I could barely stay away for the contractions or in between. I had zero energy. Every kind of food made me want to throw up and the smell of anything made me nauseated. By 10:30, I was unable to really control the contractions anymore. It seriously felt like they had completely taken on my body and all I could feel was pain. I got up to go to the restroom and Sam and I decided that if no progression had been made by the next time that they checked me, we were going to the hospital. As much as I did not want to go, in all reality, I had been in labor for 38 hours by then, my water had been broke for almost 24 hours, and I had NO food in my system and barely could keep any water down at that. I had not a single ounce of energy left in my body to go any further.

So after I got out of the restroom they checked me and I already knew what I was about to hear. I was STILL at a 7 1/2. No progression at all had been made. I seriously felt like this kid was NEVER going to come out. So we all packed our things, we talked to the midwives about what we had rights to at the hospital and what we needed to ask for while we were there to be as comfortable and as happy as possible. Everybody loaded up their things and we all drove to Harris Downtown. Kasie and I sat in the back while Sam drove and everybody made their way on their own.

We got to the hospital at about 1130p and was immediately taken to a room. They gave me an iv and hooked me to a bag- 2 bags in about 10 minutes or so... I'd say I was dehydrated a bit. Then they gave me some "pain medication" although it didnt take away any of the pain but made me feel extremely drunk and a bit loopy. And since it was obvious that I was unable to get birth naturally considering that we had been trying for the past 40 hours, they gave me an epidural for my pain and petocin for my contractions to get back to where they were before since they had died down a bit. From the time that I was given the meds to about 530, was probably the most memorable just because I was awake for all of it. Kasie, Megan, Sam and I all sat in the room and simply enjoyed ourselves. Had conversation, laughed, it truly was amazing and something I'll never forget. At 530, they came back in to check me and I was STILL at a 7 1/2. It was then I knew exactly what was coming. The words I never in my life have EVER wanted to hear and the number 1 thing I had dreaded through this entire experience-- C-Section. What I was feeling at this point was unexplainable. I knew that Preston had to come out but it was so aggravating because all the things I didn't want to to happen, happened. All I knew to do was cry. All the mixed emotions,.. thats all there was left to do, and considering that I hadn't cried the entire time, it was probably needed. So everybody got ready for the next step. We were blessed and I was allowed 3 people back in the operating room with me, Sam, Kasie, and Lynsey (birth photographer).

When they brought me back into the operating room, where they shot MORE stuff into me (can't complain, I didn't want to feel a THING since they were slicing my stomach!) and tied my arms down to a table. I was a bit aggravated because I was told that I would have an arm free and BOTH were tied down. They did the poke routine to see if I could feel anything and put a blue sheet with a huge hole in the middle over my stomach, then pulled the sheet in front of my face. They rubbed the iodine all over my stomach and after a few minutes, my guest were aloud to come in. All three walked in and Sam stood beside me and kept me updated on what was happening. There were a few times he had to sit down but it didn't take long for him to catch his breath and stand up again. The next thing I knew, they told me I would feel a little bit of pressure and all of a sudden it felt like they were pulling my spine out through my stomach. A "little bit" of pressure.... haha, ok. I felt this about 3 times and then I heard the most amazing thing in the world. My baby cry. He was finally here! 46 hours of labor, 2 different locations, a million different positions and he is finally here! Although it was not at all the way I wanted things to go, I would do it a million times over just for him. :)

While they were putting all my "belongings" back inside me, they gave me a few more big shots of morphine and really the only pain I felt was my shoulder spazing out. I had zero control over it and it was probably the worst pain I had felt through the entire labor process. Probably the only thing that made me want to cry pain wise. I dont remember every detail after that of what happened. I remember I kept saying I wanted to see him because all I could do was hear him cry and Lynsey came over and showed me a picture of him. Great way to see your child for the first time I'll have to say,... through a picture, but if it wasn't for her being in there, it would have been longer. They finally brought him over to me so I could see him and by that time I was fighting to stay awake. I had been up for longer than I can remember and through that and all the shots of medicine I was given, it was all catching up to me.

They finally brought me back to the room and we were finished! It was crazy to think that 15 minutes before I was pregnant, and now I had a baby. This truly was the best couple of days of my entire life. I never knew how you could fall in love with your child but now that I have one of my own, I completely understand and it really is unexplainable! I love him more than words can say and he is the greatest blessing I have ever been given. Sam and I are both on cloud 9 with Preston. Sam is an amazing Dad and I couldn't be any happier to know that my son has a dad that truly cares for him and loves him unconditionally. The one thing that I wanted my children to always have, Preston has and I thank God everyday for it.

Preston Lee Austin Louder
11lb. 1oz.
22 1/2in.
Born at 6:29am, February 9, 2010