Cohen's Birth Story

The much anticipated arrival of Cohen has occurred. It is still crazy to think he is here and the wait is over. I think back to the day he was born and am still in awe of how the birth process goes and how each labor can be so different. Here is Cohen's birth story:

It all started on Thursday August 18th, the day before my due date. I woke up feeling like it was just going to be another day. Between 7:00 and 8:00 I felt my first contraction. At the time I wasn't sure if it was a contraction. I thought it was different than what I had been feeling but it wasn't painful and I experienced maybe one that first hour. Over the course of the morning I had a few more contractions but kept thinking that if this was the start of labor it would probably not result in the birth of a baby until the next day. My sister Angie was helping with the daycare and I kept commenting that I thought something was different but yet I was able to function like normal. We brought the kids in from outside, got lunch ready, and put them down for a nap. I started noticing the contractions were a little more frequent and decided around 2:00 that I should start timing them to see how frequent and how long they lasted. It was almost surprising to me that they were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting 45 seconds to a minute. I definitely knew at this point I was in labor but again still thought it would be late evening or early morning before a baby would arrive. The contractions were just not all that painful. I focused on breathing but yet could talk through them. Troy was working almost an hour away so I had to decide when it was best for him to come home. I decided at 3:00 to see if he could take off at 3:30 instead of 4:00 because I started feeling the need to have him near me. I still figured labor would last a while though. During this time I worked through the contractions while helping give snacks to the kids and getting them ready to go outside. My pain level was still pretty low. Troy arrived home right around 4:30 and it was as if Cohen knew he was here. The contractions picked up slightly where I had to focus solely on breathing through the contraction and talking wasn't as easy. Troy packed his part of the bag while I swept the floor and picked up. But before we could leave I requested that he clean out the sink which required him to unload the dishwasher as well. Funny to look back and realize my concern at the time was the dirty dishes. As we headed out the door all the daycare kids were sending me off with love. It was especially nice to see Sevea perfectly fine with us leaving and I couldn't have asked for a better hug and kiss before I left.

The car ride was much more enjoyable this time around. Being 1 mile from the hospital sure helps! I still felt like the contractions weren't too bad and told Troy he could just leave the bags in the car just in case we were sent home. (Or I at least thought he would have time to get them before the birth) As we got out of the car and walked into the hospital things seemed a little more intense. We checked into labor and delivery and were brought to our room. We checked the time, it said 5:09. My room was quite familiar as it was the exact same room Carissa delivered in :) I think Cohen realized we were in the birthing room because the intensity of my contractions picked up dramatically. I quickly got changed into the gown and the nurse examined me. To great surprise I was dilated to 8cm. I requested to get into the bathtub to help with the pain. As one nurse left to get it ready another nurse said she didn't think I'd make it. A moment later my water broke. Immediate pressure to push followed. Only wrench in what was happening, the doctor wasn't even close to being there. I wasn't sure on what I should be doing, either pushing or trying to make it through the contraction. Even though my brain didn't know what to do your body does. Out came the head and then the rest of him without any effort by me. 19 minutes after we got to the room Cohen Troy entered the world at 5:28.

One of my hopes for the delivery was to have my doctor there. I guess I should have just hoped for a doctor. But the nurses did a great job and I was well taken care of. To sum it all up: quick and dare I say easy. This girl is not complaining!

Welcome Cohen Troy Appeldorn

On Thursday August 18th at 5:28pm we welcomed Cohen Troy Appeldorn into the world. We feel very blessed to have him in our lives and can't wait to watch him grow and learn. After spending 3 days in the hospital we are glad to be home and are adjusting to life with a newborn. Expect many more posts about the little guy :)

Update and Baby Blessing Celebration

First a quick update on the pregnancy. I went for my appointment yesterday afternoon. My doctor is out of town so I saw a different doctor. At one point I thought they had forgot about me in the room since I waited for around 45 minutes for the doctor to come in. Besides that I really liked the doctor. I would be happy to have her deliver my baby, but really I could care less who delivers the baby at this point :) I have made some more progress towards the ultimate goal of 10cm dilated. I am now a good 2cm if not 2.5cm dilated. I don't know anything else since that was all the doctor shared with me. She did say that most likely the baby would come around my due date since past pregnancies are a good indicator a lot of times. All we can do is wait! The unknown of when the baby will come I think is harder than actually being pregnant for longer. If I knew on such and such date labor would start I think I would be less anxious. All apart of the fun I suppose!

Even though the baby hasn't entered the world yet it is truly loved not only by Troy, Sevea, and myself but family and friends. Carissa did an amazing job of reminding me how wonderful of people I have in my life. On Saturday July 30th she hosted a baby blessing celebration for me and baby #2. The party was centered around making meals to be frozen and just popped into the oven after the baby arrives. Being this is a second baby and we pretty much have everything but clothes if it comes out a boy, it was a great idea! I love this idea so much I think it should be done for everyone....granted we haven't ate the meals yet :) The preparation of the meals went fairly quick so the rest of the party was spent just enjoying time together and talking about babies and everything else. It was exactly what I think every second time mom would ask for.

Keeley, Michelle, Erin

Katie, Leah, Heather, and little Grayson

Me, Nichole, Vicky, and little Alex Reaves

We are excited to meet you baby!

I received 5 meals in total including lasagna, tator tot casserole, tuna casserole, etc.

Carissa did a good job of decorating

Most are leaning towards boy and many thought this baby would be here by now :)

Of course a picture was not taken of me with the hostess with the mostest. But that doesn't mean she didn't do an amazing job. Carissa truly out did herself with the food she prepared (I devoured the fruit dip!!) and made this a spectacular event celebrating the upcoming birth of baby #2. We are both very lucky!!

Week 39 Update

One week from the estimated day the baby should arrive. Many mothers are dying to have the baby make its appearance by now. For me it is mixed emotions. I originally really wanted the baby to come today. For me today would have been nice since this is the last day my doctor will be working until the 22nd. It also wouldn't have inconvenienced the daycare parents as much as before this date. But it appears the baby is not thinking today would be a good day. I am certainly thankful the baby hasn't already come. Sure at times I really want it here, I want to hold the baby and know who it is. But I am also remembering to enjoy this time we have left before life changes again. It will no longer be just about Sevea. Sleep will no longer be something we can enjoy for a full night. Life will be consumed with a newborn and everything that comes along with it. I don't consider these things "fun" although they are rewarding at the same time. I look forward to watching the baby grow and learning more about who this life is. Changing diapers, feedings, crying...all of these things are not my reasons for having another child :)

How I am feeling: I wouldn't have been surprised if the baby came before now with how I have been feeling. But I believe this is because the baby is lower than what I experienced with Sevea. I feel so much more and it is hard to not assume this means something. I guess I know better now!! I can't complain though. The swelling has still yet to appear and I am just amazed by this. I don't have much pain besides the occasional round ligament pain or the good kicks the baby gives. Sleep has been okay. I do wake up at least once maybe twice during the middle of the night. I think I just sleep less soundly than before. But this sleep is still better than I can ever expect with a newborn. Most of the time it is just the falling asleep that is hard. Tylenol has been my friend in order to lessen the aches I notice as I try to fall asleep. Overall I feel good. Having to care for 5 children during the day is about the only time I wish to be done with the pregnancy. This baby definitely notices when I am holding another child and likes to push on both ends making it a little uncomfortable. But I manage, especially when I can kiss Grayson's cute cheeks.

Appointment: My next appointment will be on Monday August 15th. My last appointment went well and I was measuring right on track. I however saw no additional progress indicating the baby would like to come early. Which was actually very good to hear since we had a little girl with a fever. Anxiety was high during that time for me as I couldn't imagine leaving my sick child plus the thought of her not being able to come visit her new sibling was not something I could bear. We'll see what the next appointment brings....yes I am hoping the baby lasts till then as I would love to enjoy this weekend and knock out some additional projects!

Could be a final look at the baby inside my belly!

Getting ready for baby #2

So we haven't had to do a ton to get ready for baby #2 since 1)we have stuff from Sevea and 2)having daycare with infants has made pulling stuff out something we already had done. As I posted earlier we got Sevea into her new room which meant we were able to get the crib back to baby mode. Sevea enjoyed helping Troy with this task and I think it also helped her to associate the room with the baby rather than herself.

It is amazing how less prepared we feel this time. It just feels like we should be doing something. I finally packed my bag the other night. We have a car seat ready. A few clothes ready. I think it helps that we have family so close this time and that we live a mile away from the hospital. If we forget anything Troy can easily go home or ask the Zimmer's for their help...or there is a Target across the street from the hospital :) Let's hope the transition to a family of four goes smoother than we could even hope for!

MIssion Big Girl

Mission Big Girl has been accomplished! We successfully transitioned Sevea from the baby room to her new big girl room. It went fairly well and she handled the new situation better than one can expect. Well okay actually I think we had a little high of expectations for Sevea since she handles life in general pretty easy. Plus she was super excited about the room so we thought she would move over with no problem what-so-ever. Well that wasn't exactly the case. Once we had the room painted with the finishing touches on the polka dots we moved Sevea over that night. With only a month before the baby was estimated to come we knew the sooner the better. She had a little resistance to sleeping in there when we talked about it. But we went ahead with our ritual of doing a dance party and she happily hopped into bed. We were hopeful. Kisses and hugs good night and we left the room.

All smiles as she went to bed the first night

 As normal she talked a little to her dolls and not long after she was asleep. Success...or so we thought. 10:00 came around and just as every other night I opened the door to check on her before I went to bed. She was facing the door and looked right at me. We said our good nights to her again and went to bed. She cried out two more times between 10:00 and 11:00 and we knew this was not going well. She gave us the most sad face with tears in the corner of her eyes. She said she was scared and wanted to sleep in the other room. After the second time we asked if she wanted to sleep in the baby room and try again tomorrow. With her sad tone she agreed very quickly to this new plan. Once in the baby room she fell asleep fast and stayed asleep till the morning.

The next day we talked more about how she had a new big girl room and how she was going to sleep in there. We attempted nap time in the room. Success! She went to sleep and stayed asleep for a normal nap. Then came night time. We haven't used bribery for much but decided this situation might be appropriate. We talked to her about being a big girl and how the old room needed to be for the baby. How she needed to sleep in her new room that we painted exactly how she picked. We figured the transition deserved a special toy. We asked her if she wanted a new doll, a new car, or a Dora toy. Of course the second Dora came out of my mouth she said yes. And was really excited. She laid down in bed and we told her that in order to get her special Dora treat she needed to sleep in the bed all night. The next sound we heard from her was "I'm done" as she waited for us to come get her in the morning. She did it!!

For the next night or so she said she was scared when we talked about it, but she fell asleep with no problem and stayed asleep in the bed till morning. So although the transition wasn't 100% easy, it was nice for us as parents to remember that she is human and will have resistance to some changes in life. Yet we remember to be thankful since it could have gone terribly different. Our little girl is growing up and soon no longer going to the baby of the family. I think the change will be harder on us than her!

Week 37 and 3 days update

More for documentation sake since it is nice to compare I am updating on my appointment today. The appointment went well. Each time I am happy to hear my blood pressure is perfectly fine. The swelling has also not started which still amazes me. I never would have thought at this point my rings would still fit my fingers...especially being it is summer and it has been HOT! I am again measuring only one week behind so that was a positive thing. The baby was moving a lot so the heart rate jumped around quite a bit but topped again in the 140s. I measured at 2cm dilated and still 50% effaced. The baby was putting good pressure on the cervix so all good signs. My doctor and I both are hoping for August 12th which would be 39 weeks. My doctor is on vacation that whole next week. Of course I will be taken care of whether she is there or not but it would be nice to have her for the birth. Otherwise she comes back and is on call the 22nd. Which that date is fine with me as well :) Since I made more progress this past week she was really hopeful that my body would cooperate with both of our wants! Only time will tell but with babies I am guessing it won't happen how we want!!

My next appointment is August 8th