She is here!! Ever Nicole Moore 10-31-11

I haven't had much time to get online or write a blog but wanted to post an update to let everyone know that Little Bird arrived safely on Halloween night. I got my Halloween baby and she looked like a pumpkin. She had some jaundice so she was a little orange.

We named her Ever Nicole Moore. The name came as a play off of the Edgar Allen Poe poem "The Raven". We didn't want to use Never as a name because it just felt negative so we shorten it to Ever. She has been keeping me up and busy. She will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. Here are a few pictures of her over the past few weeks. Love her so much!!

Day 1

Day 7

Day 14

Day 21

My birth story

It all started October 30 early Sunday morning. I went to bed at 11pm only to be awoken at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3am by contractions. When I couldn't get back to sleep by 3:30am I decided to get up and start timing my contractions. After about an hour of 5 minute apart contractions I woke my husband up to go into the hospital. He asked if he could sleep another hour. Haha. I said no I've already been up an hour and want to leave for the hospital so after a shower we were off.

We arrived at the hospital about 5:30am. After being hooked up to the monitor for an hour and talking with the doctor it was decided I would stay at the hospital. We called my family to let them know what was going on. So all day Sunday I stayed at the hospital and walked to get labor going on its own. I was able to eat and pretty much do whatever I wanted while there all day. My mom, doula Ashley, and my hubby spent the day with me. My dad and step-mom were arriving from Ohio that afternoon so I was trying to hold out until they arrived which turned out to not be too hard. My sister got off of work and came up as soon as she could. I just remember spending the day walking and bouncing on the birthing ball. I think I dilated another centimeter over the day so I went from 4cm to 5cm which is half way.

By about 6pm I was given the option of breaking my water or taking some medicine to get some sleep. I chose sleep since I had been up since 3am that morning.

The next morning at 8am they broke my water. From then on I wasn't allowed to eat anything. I again spent most the day walking and bouncing on the birthing ball to progress my labor. The contractions were coming and going about 5 minutes apart as they had been for several days. They slowly got stronger but nothing I couldn't handle. By 5pm I was dilated to 7cm and ready for some relief. I was tired and hungry and getting worried I wouldn't have my baby before the end of the night. You see it was Halloween day, the day I said all along that I wanted to have her. So I chose to get pitocin and an epidural to progress my labor and hopefully have Little Bird before midnight. There was a little trouble with getting the epidural but we finally got it in. I could no longer feel my contractions so I laid in bed and waited. At some point the pain kicked in again so they had to give me more medicine. That didn't seem to do anything so they gave me a different kind of pain medicine which did the trick. At 7pm I was pushing and at 7:30pm she was born.

She was born on 10-31-11 (Halloween) at 7:30pm. She weighed 8lbs 3.4ozs and was 21 3/4 in long.

It was the best thing in the world to hear my baby girl scream. I've missed so much with the loss of Brinley and everyday I see more and more stuff that I didn't get to have with Brinley. Ever is such a joy to have in my life. She brings me so many smiles everyday. At the same time my heart aches for my first born. She will always have a place in my heart. 

Overall I'm very happy with my birthing experience. It couldn't have went better.

Here is another picture of my beautiful baby, Ever Moore, who is now 5 weeks old and weighing 10lbs 14oz and is 22in long.

5 Weeks Old

Feeling Anxious & The Name Game

Feeling kind of bummed that my contractions seemed to have subsided today...at the same time I'm glad they have because I want a Halloween baby. I guess tomorrow is my last day to get things going on their own. I haven't been diligent about walking and other things to try and start labor. I wasn't feeling that good today so I rested a lot. There is a delicate balance between doing things to induce labor and trying to rest before the baby comes. I hope we made the right decision to wait a few more days...

Anyway I wanted to finally share some names with you. We haven't fully decided on a name but here is a short list of the names we have looked at for Little Bird.

We have really had a hard time coming up with a name for this little girl. Our top 20 names are below. They are in alphabetic order not by our favorites. You can click on the name for the name meaning of each.

1. Cadence
2. Chaley
3. Ever
4. Harlow
5. Haven
6. Hazen
7. Iris
8. Meadow
9. Neve
10. Nova
11. Sage
12. Starling
13. Sydney
14. Tara
15. Tavy
16. Teagan
17. Teal
18. Tova
19. Whisper
20. Wren

There were some names that I liked that didn't have a meaning so they are really at the bottom of my list. I don't want my child's name to not have any meaning like the name Chaley. It is very uncommon but I also was not able to find a meaning for it. Some names are meant to be fun and playful with our last name like the name Whisper. Some names I chose went with the Little Bird reference such as Wren or Starling. Others were just unique, uncommon names I have come across.

So as the search for a perfect name goes we are waiting until we can see her little face before choosing a forever name for her.

38w 2d - Halloween & 7 billion people

As I sit here having yet another contraction I can't wait to see my little girl in the next few days. Yes I said the next few days!!!

Apparently when I went to my doctor appointment on Thursday I was having some pretty good contractions so the doctor came in to check me again. I was dilated to 4cm. She asked if I wanted to go ahead into the hospital to be induced that day!! I was kind of in shock and asked if I could call my husband.

Top = Baby's Heartbeat
Bottom = Contractions

He suggested we wait until Monday to see if labor would start in its own over the weekend so that is what we are doing. Looks like I will have my Halloween baby after all!! I'm so excited to not have to wait until November 3rd to be induced. I am now taking off of work until January. Trying to get labor going on its own over the weekend. I really would like for my labor to start on its own but at the same time I'm ready to have my little girl safe in my arms. It has been such a long journey to get this far, I can't believe it is almost over.

Two more days!!

Also it looks like they are projecting the 7 Billionth Person to be born on Halloween. 

My dad is coming into town on Sunday night so he can be here for her birth. He was originally going to come on Tuesday but since the doctor was ready to induce yesterday he changed his ticket to Sunday just in case. My step-mom is also coming with him. She is just getting over having pneumonia but went to the doctor for a check-up and got a clean bill of health (in writing, even) so she could be sure the baby would be safe when she came down. lol I can't wait to see them.

I'll leave you with some pictures on me and my Little (big) Bird belly today... and one of my new haircut also done today. :P

38 WEEKS & Induction date set!!!

Little Bird is 38 weeks old today! 

I had a doctor appointment yesterday so here is the update. My Aunt Donna went with me since my husband and mom had to work. Little Bird did great on her NST once again which is always a sigh of relief. I was having some pretty good contractions about 4 to 7 minutes apart which I could feel. After I left I couldn't feel the contractions as much probably because I was up and moving around.

I'm dilated 3cm, 70% effaced, and baby is at -2 station. 

 

They gave me an induction date of November 3rd which is Thursday next week! So if I don't go into labor over the next week I will be induced next week.

I'm working the rest of this week and probably Monday then I'll start my maternity leave. Woohoo!! Here we go!!

37w 4d - I'm Back!

I have taken a few days off from blogging. This past week was a hard one for me. This week I am as pregnant as I was when I found out that Brinley no longer had a heartbeat. I've been really tired and wore down knowing that this time was approaching so I had to take a break.

I have had a couple appointments since the last time I updated. Last Tuesday I had a NST and doctor appointment at 36w 6d and a NST at 37w 2d on Friday. I was 37w 2d when I got the news about Brinley so having the NST first thing in the morning helped make the day go better. Everything is still looking great with Little Birdie. She is passing her NST with no problem.  My weight is now about 220 pounds. My blood pressure is still in the normal range about 115/60 at both appointments over the week. I'm dilated about 2cm last time they checked me so a little more progress. My next appointment is on Tuesday at 9:45am, I will be 37w 6d pregnant.

My contractions had stopped over the past week but today I have been feeling them again. I'm really hoping that I go into labor sometime over the next week because the following week I will be induced. Probably at my next doctor appointment they will give me a date for induction, then the countdown really begins. As I watch all of these women who are due around the same time as me go into labor, I know my time is coming. Two of my friends have had their babies over the past week and they were due sometime over the next week or so.

I was scared to get this far in my pregnancy. I felt like my baby's death sentence was approaching as I got closer to the 37w 2d mark. Now that it has passed I really feel like I will be bringing Little Bird home with me which is scary in itself. I will have this little life to be in charge of. I really can not wait to hold my baby. Can't wait to hear her cry, I know I will probably break down when I do. Can't wait to bring her home and take all the pictures I could ever want. I'm glad I made it this far in my pregnancy. To know that I can do this and everything will be alright. Well I don't know that yet but I feel much better about it now.

Trying to relax

So nervous for today... Let me start with my last appointment with Brinley was on a Tuesday at 4:30pm. This was the appointment I found out she was gone. I was 37w 2d. Today is a Tuesday and my appointment is at 2:15pm, I'm 36w 6d. Today is also 14 months since I had Brinley. Thankfully I have been feeling Little Bird move this morning but I can't help but feel like I'm going to get bad news...

We got her room painted and moved the furniture back in there. So over the weekend I finished the rainbow mobile I was making for her room. I also picked out a going home outfit for her and washed some clothes. I received the last couple of cloth diapers I ordered for her yesterday so I am washing all the cloth diapers I have right now. I am doing things to make me feel like she will be coming home with us.

I also feel like I have been having some slightly stronger contractions today. I've probably felt 5 or 6 so far this morning. I'm hoping I have dilated some more since last week. I'm so ready to have my baby girl in my arms.


I think I'm going to start timing my contractions to decide if I should go to the doctor earlier today. I've definitely been feeling them more this morning.