Post if your wife is pregnant
12-19-2007
, 03:39 PM
Merry Christmas to all!
Most likely looking at an early September due date. I'll post again after the Dr. visit.
01-03-2008
, 12:25 AM
Quote:
Can we have sex tonight or drink alcohol?
Also, these pictures are great guys. This thread always makes me happy. I loved all the Christmas babies and the pic of Joe Tall's baby in her I
Daddy outfit is really cute!
01-03-2008
, 10:42 PM
Although if he did get some action, the new swimmers might be better, stronger, faster....
01-04-2008
, 07:58 PM
this picture is awesome. these babies have my standard 2 facial expressions while playing poker. is there an alien behind you by chance?
) eta is 08/28.
01-06-2008
, 03:32 AM
Holy crap, what a wild ride the last few days have been. Audrey was born on January 4th at a little past midnight. Here's a pretty long trip report. Note that I have a somewhat dry writing style so sorry if you get bored 
It was January 3rd and at about 2:30AM, my wife came into the bedroom after using the bathroom. She calmly told me that she thought her water broke. I gave her a "yeah right, come back to bed" speech since our due date wasn't for another two weeks and waited for her to lie back down next to me.
15 minutes later we were in the car and on the way to the hospital. Nurses took all her vitals and confirmed that, indeed, her membranes were ruptured and we waited while they readied our room. As an aside, the hospital we were delivering at (heh, "we") was amazing and had a seperate room for each delivering mom complete with a full bathroom w/Jacuzzi tub and a nursing staff that is out of this world. Anyways, we were moved into our room and settled in for what would turn out to be a long, arduous stay.
By 6am, my wife's contractions had kicked in and I could barely contain myself as I started waking up family members with phone calls to let them know our baby girl was going to be born today. I was certain this whole birthing thing would be over by noon, even though everything we had learned in our birthing classes and from other couples went against this inkling.
Flash forward to around 2pm. At this point, wifey was having sporadic contractions that weren't lasting very long. Family had arrived and were anxiously awaiting the coming of little Audrey. I spent time with my wife walking around the hospital, bouncing on the birthing ball, and sitting in the tub to try to get the show on the road, but nothing seemed to be working. Talk of petocin began, but we were adamant on trying to get this thing started naturally.
Four or five hours passed and the contractions were getting stronger. They were anywhere from 3-10 minutes apart and my poor wife was starting to get tired, having dealt with the abdominal strain for quite a long time. A nurse suggested my wife take a break by hopping in the Jacuzzi. The RN gave the impression that, often, the hot tub would slow the contractions and allow momma to take a little break from the labor pains. If by "slow contractions and give momma a break" she meant "throw my wife into violent contractions making her want to die" then the nurse was spot on.
This is where I started freaking out. On the outside I was cool, calm and collected as wifey clutched me in her arms, groaned in pain, and took deep, rhythmic breaths to attempt to ease the pain. Inside, though, I was a wreck. I had gotten only 3 hours of sleep the night before and had been doing everything I could to be Johnny-on-the-spot for my significant other. It was extremely difficult to see my wife in so much pain and not be able to do anything for her. If I could have, I would have switched places with her in a heartbeat.....and the "real" labor hadn't even begun yet.
The Jacuzzi tub had kicked us into high gear right past the transitional phase into real labor. Wifey looked the midwife in the eye as we came out of the bathroom and managed to forcefully scream out the words, "EPIDURAL, NOW," in between contractions. The anesthesiologist was paged and I sat with my wife for what would be probably the 2 most diffucult hours of the whole ordeal. I sat by her bedside while I watched my wife grimace over and over again as the contractions became stronger and closer together. At about 7PM the "pain-lady" arrived and started the process of getting my wife some relief from the tummy down. Talk of signing waivers, release of liability and the word "risks" were thrown around as I deliriously tried to take in what was happening. I almost lost it at that point. Overwhelmed with fatigue and emotional overload (imagine how my wife must have felt) I tried to sit as stone faced as possible since my wife was counting on me for support. Granted, epidurals are extremely common, and it was pretty irrational for me to be worried about anything, but when you're in the kind of mental state I was in, coupled with the thought that someone is going to be sticking needles directly into a loved ones spine, you don't always think straight. For whatever reason, I was extremely nervous about the whole procedure, but my wife had a look on her face that told me she really needed some relief.
My worry was for naught as roughly 45 minutes later, the epidural was in and, coupled with a shot of some sort of narcotic, my wife was starting to feel relief. I took a few minutes to step outside and my dad had brought me some food for me since I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I collected myself and went back to be with my lady and was extremely relieved to find her in a state of relaxation when I returned to our room. I collapsed on the couch next to the bed and quickly faded into a deep sleep.
I was jostled awake after what turned out to be only 30 minutes of sleep. The midwife had come into the room to check on the state of the labor only to find out that my wife was fully dialated....this baby was ready to come out! Half asleep and struggling to stay awake, I jumped to my wifes side for what I had hoped would be the last, quick part of labor. I should have known better, having gone through the slow-as-mollasses progression that took place during the day, but, again, you don't always think straight when you're in a muddled mental state.
Wifey pushed and pushed, attempting to learn the apparent "method" for getting the baby out, but she was pretty numb, having just gotten the epidural an hour or so before. My poor wife...what a trooper. Two hours of pushing passed and I was finally able to see the crown of my little girls hair, but wifey could not seem to push her any further. At that point, the nurse and midwife agreed that mommy-to-be should take a short break as she was absolutely exhausted. Somewhat relieved, my wife shifted to her side and closed her eyes. Fortunately, she couldn't feel my physically, but she was completely drained in every other capacity.
I collapsed again on the couch and was awakened not more than 15 minutes later. The heart monitor for the baby was beeping and a team of people that I had not seen before were in the room. All I heard was "blood pressure dropping", but that coupled with looks of concern on everyones faces made me aware that things were not right. The midwife looked my wife in the eye and firmly said, "We need this baby out immediately. You need to do this." I have never seen a woman more focused than my wife was at that point. To both my surprise and relief, 8 pushes later, little Audrey shot out of her mom like a bullet and started making the beautiful sound of crying that everyone was waiting for.
What a trip!!!! I am so glad I was able to be a part of the birthing process. It was an indescribable experience and I am elated that my daughter is quietly sleeping in a basonet on our bedside as I type this. Words just cannot do justice to how amazing being a father is....and I'm only a day and a half in!!!!
Here is Audrey's first picture probably 45 seconds after she was born sitting on momma's chest:
It was January 3rd and at about 2:30AM, my wife came into the bedroom after using the bathroom. She calmly told me that she thought her water broke. I gave her a "yeah right, come back to bed" speech since our due date wasn't for another two weeks and waited for her to lie back down next to me.
15 minutes later we were in the car and on the way to the hospital. Nurses took all her vitals and confirmed that, indeed, her membranes were ruptured and we waited while they readied our room. As an aside, the hospital we were delivering at (heh, "we") was amazing and had a seperate room for each delivering mom complete with a full bathroom w/Jacuzzi tub and a nursing staff that is out of this world. Anyways, we were moved into our room and settled in for what would turn out to be a long, arduous stay.
By 6am, my wife's contractions had kicked in and I could barely contain myself as I started waking up family members with phone calls to let them know our baby girl was going to be born today. I was certain this whole birthing thing would be over by noon, even though everything we had learned in our birthing classes and from other couples went against this inkling.
Flash forward to around 2pm. At this point, wifey was having sporadic contractions that weren't lasting very long. Family had arrived and were anxiously awaiting the coming of little Audrey. I spent time with my wife walking around the hospital, bouncing on the birthing ball, and sitting in the tub to try to get the show on the road, but nothing seemed to be working. Talk of petocin began, but we were adamant on trying to get this thing started naturally.
Four or five hours passed and the contractions were getting stronger. They were anywhere from 3-10 minutes apart and my poor wife was starting to get tired, having dealt with the abdominal strain for quite a long time. A nurse suggested my wife take a break by hopping in the Jacuzzi. The RN gave the impression that, often, the hot tub would slow the contractions and allow momma to take a little break from the labor pains. If by "slow contractions and give momma a break" she meant "throw my wife into violent contractions making her want to die" then the nurse was spot on.
This is where I started freaking out. On the outside I was cool, calm and collected as wifey clutched me in her arms, groaned in pain, and took deep, rhythmic breaths to attempt to ease the pain. Inside, though, I was a wreck. I had gotten only 3 hours of sleep the night before and had been doing everything I could to be Johnny-on-the-spot for my significant other. It was extremely difficult to see my wife in so much pain and not be able to do anything for her. If I could have, I would have switched places with her in a heartbeat.....and the "real" labor hadn't even begun yet.
The Jacuzzi tub had kicked us into high gear right past the transitional phase into real labor. Wifey looked the midwife in the eye as we came out of the bathroom and managed to forcefully scream out the words, "EPIDURAL, NOW," in between contractions. The anesthesiologist was paged and I sat with my wife for what would be probably the 2 most diffucult hours of the whole ordeal. I sat by her bedside while I watched my wife grimace over and over again as the contractions became stronger and closer together. At about 7PM the "pain-lady" arrived and started the process of getting my wife some relief from the tummy down. Talk of signing waivers, release of liability and the word "risks" were thrown around as I deliriously tried to take in what was happening. I almost lost it at that point. Overwhelmed with fatigue and emotional overload (imagine how my wife must have felt) I tried to sit as stone faced as possible since my wife was counting on me for support. Granted, epidurals are extremely common, and it was pretty irrational for me to be worried about anything, but when you're in the kind of mental state I was in, coupled with the thought that someone is going to be sticking needles directly into a loved ones spine, you don't always think straight. For whatever reason, I was extremely nervous about the whole procedure, but my wife had a look on her face that told me she really needed some relief.
My worry was for naught as roughly 45 minutes later, the epidural was in and, coupled with a shot of some sort of narcotic, my wife was starting to feel relief. I took a few minutes to step outside and my dad had brought me some food for me since I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I collected myself and went back to be with my lady and was extremely relieved to find her in a state of relaxation when I returned to our room. I collapsed on the couch next to the bed and quickly faded into a deep sleep.
I was jostled awake after what turned out to be only 30 minutes of sleep. The midwife had come into the room to check on the state of the labor only to find out that my wife was fully dialated....this baby was ready to come out! Half asleep and struggling to stay awake, I jumped to my wifes side for what I had hoped would be the last, quick part of labor. I should have known better, having gone through the slow-as-mollasses progression that took place during the day, but, again, you don't always think straight when you're in a muddled mental state.
Wifey pushed and pushed, attempting to learn the apparent "method" for getting the baby out, but she was pretty numb, having just gotten the epidural an hour or so before. My poor wife...what a trooper. Two hours of pushing passed and I was finally able to see the crown of my little girls hair, but wifey could not seem to push her any further. At that point, the nurse and midwife agreed that mommy-to-be should take a short break as she was absolutely exhausted. Somewhat relieved, my wife shifted to her side and closed her eyes. Fortunately, she couldn't feel my physically, but she was completely drained in every other capacity.
I collapsed again on the couch and was awakened not more than 15 minutes later. The heart monitor for the baby was beeping and a team of people that I had not seen before were in the room. All I heard was "blood pressure dropping", but that coupled with looks of concern on everyones faces made me aware that things were not right. The midwife looked my wife in the eye and firmly said, "We need this baby out immediately. You need to do this." I have never seen a woman more focused than my wife was at that point. To both my surprise and relief, 8 pushes later, little Audrey shot out of her mom like a bullet and started making the beautiful sound of crying that everyone was waiting for.
What a trip!!!! I am so glad I was able to be a part of the birthing process. It was an indescribable experience and I am elated that my daughter is quietly sleeping in a basonet on our bedside as I type this. Words just cannot do justice to how amazing being a father is....and I'm only a day and a half in!!!!
Here is Audrey's first picture probably 45 seconds after she was born sitting on momma's chest:
01-11-2008
, 08:25 PM
