Introducing Braden Lee Burkholder!!!

He's finally here!! Amy went into the hospital last night at 4pm to be induced. She labored throughout the night until around 10am this morning but was only dilated to 4 centimeters. Although her contractions were strong they were too far apart for labor to progress properly. Amy was started on another drug pytosin sp? to try and get the contractions closer together. Although this did help speed up the contractions it also caused Bradens heart rate to drop which is not a good sign. Basically this meant that the placenta was wearing out and not providing enough blood and oxygen during the contraction. After 2 hours of contractions Amy hadn't dilated any further and her doctor said that it was her feeling that labor was not going to progress fast enough to keep Braden out of stress and that that actual pushing at the end of labor could cause an emergency. After talking it over with the doctor we all agreed that the best course of action would be to stop the medicine and do a c-section while Braden was still doing well. So that's what we did! The surgery went GREAT! Mom and Baby are doing very well. Braden was born at 2:40pm weighs 6lbs and is 20 inches long! Praise God for our baby boy! We are so grateful for everyones thoughts and prayers and for all of our supportive family and friends!

Getting closer

My appointment with my OB yesterday was rather uneventful. Basically everything is the same as a week ago. My belly is still small. In fact she said my belly has been the same size since December 17th. She didn't do another ultrasound, but did check his heartrate and quizzed me about his movements both of which are fine. She did explain more about what to expect this week. Basically I'll go in tomorrow afternoon and they will start me on a vaginal suppository drug to begin to get my body into labor. She said the dose is given every 4 hours and usually takes 3-4 doses to get my body started. So, it's easier to begin slowly through the night. The following morning I may be started on pitocin depending on that progress. Supposedly some people start into labor without the pitocin. She did warn me that if things don't progress despite all the meds I may be given two options of either C-section or go home to let things progress on their own for another 24 hours. We're praying against both of those possibilities. We pray that my body responds well to the meds depsite the fact that I'm not dialated at all yet.

Tomorrow is my last chance to get everything ready, pack my bags and get to the hospital. It will be a crazy couple days. We'll keep updating so watch for anything new and of course pictures. :)

Slight change in date

I finally heard back from my Dr's office on Friday regarding dates and times to be at the hospital. They want me to be there by 4pm on Wednesday (Jan 21st) for a Thursday (Jan 22nd) delivery. Initially when I called the office and I told them that Thursday would be good for induction, I wasn't sure if that meant BE there on Thursday or induce on Thursday. Anyway, now we know. Curtis will still plan to work a full day on Wednesday and then come hang out with me, but will plan to sleep at home on Wednesday to be with me the next couple days. I guess on Wednesday I will be given some kind of drug to soften and ready my cervix and then will start the Pitocin on Thursday morning. It's crazy to know this is only a few days away. . .

Please pray for Curtis as he has come down with some kind of stomach flu bug last night. He's been in bed all day and feeling pretty crummy. We're praying that I don't get it and that he's well enough to be part of the coming events this week.

I have another Dr. appt tomorrow morning, so if anything changes I'll keep you posted. :) Our baby boy will be here before we know it!!!!

Plans for next week

At my OB appointment today I was still measuring small. Basically the same as last week. Dr. Fenoughty decided to have another ultrasound to determine how well he was growing. He is now 6 lb. 1 oz. , only 5 oz. bigger than last week. His growth is starting to slow and he's now dropped to the 16th percentile in size. Bascially what that means is that the placenta function is slowing down in it's ability to provide adequate nutrition. All this to say. . . time to get him out. :) She said that we need to plan to induce sometime next week and that we could decide the day. So, tentatively we're planning on going in Thursday to begin the induction with a delivery on Friday. The office still needs to get back with me to confirm this. Also, I have another appointment next Monday to check me again to make sure we don't need to move it up sooner. I'll keep you all posted on details, but basically we're having a baby next week. :) :) The bummer of inducing is that I'm not dialated at all yet, so it could take awhile and there exists the possibility that it wouldn't progress well leading to a C-section. But, it doesn't matter. We just want to get him out and have a healthy baby----whatever it takes!!!! Please pray that:
1) Baby continues to gain weight and that the placenta continues functioning until Friday.
2) That my body would begin to ready for labor on it's own to start some dialating.
I'll let you know if anything changes.

Professional Maternity Pics- 32 weeks

37 Weeks

I had another OB appointment this morning since I am now going weekly. I expected the appointment to be quick and painless like all the others have been, but there was a little more to it this time. Dr. Fenoughty checked the measurement of my belly which actually measured small. The measurement in cm should coincide with the # of weeks pregnant. Up until now that has been the case. However today at 37 weeks, I measured only at 34. She also checked to see if I'm dialated at all, which I'm not, but could determine that the baby had dropped lower into my pelvis. She was concerned about my size so had to get another ultrasound to make sure the fluid levels were adequate and that the baby is growing well. It was nice to see him again on the ultrasound. The fluid levels came back fine at 14. Anything below 5 is concerning. The baby is measuring small, however. He measured approx 5lb 12oz. He is in the 17th percentile for size and I guess anything below 20 is concerning. So, then they had me get hooked up to the monitors for about 30-40 minutes to monitor the baby's heart rate and activity as well as any contractions I was having. Initially he wasn't moving much and the heart rate stayed around 135. It was interesting to see that I am having regular contractions, but not something I'm noticing much and nothing that is causing any pain. They then gave me a mini pack of M&M's and this instantly boosted his activity and heart rate which was what they were wanting to see. So, the conclusion after all this is that the baby is fine, the fluid is fine, his movement is fine, but he just may be genetically small. Not surprising considering the size of Curtis and I. Dr. Fenoughty's concern was that he's not getting enough nutrition from the placenta or that the fluid was dropping which could compromise his health. But neither of which were true at this time. Basically I'm just supposed to closely monitor his movements and if they drop off they want me to come in to be monitored again. If his movement, growth or fluid levels drop off she would induce me into labor to prevent any problems. So, all in all everything is still fine, but all the testing was a little anxiety provoking. It just looks like we'll be having a small baby which I guess is a good thing- easier to push out right? :) We just want to make sure he's healthy. Please pray for his continued growth and health in the coming weeks. :)

36 weeks pregnant

Here I am beginning the final month of this journey. It's hard to believe there are only 4 weeks to go. In a way I'm ready to be done being pregnant and finally be able to hold our little guy. But, there are a lot of anxieties too. I've wanted to be pregnant for so long that I don't want to wish it away too quickly.

In the past couple weeks I've really started to feel "big" and can feel my pelvis loosen. It takes me longer to get around and Curtis is always having to slow down so I can keep up with him. :) I had my 36 week OB appointment yesterday. My cervix is starting to soften, but no effacement or dilation yet. Everything continues to check out perfect. The baby continues to be head down with his bottom on my right side and hands/feet on my left. He's quite the wiggly one so I could figure that out myself. She's predicting him to be in the high 6 pound range or low 7 pound range. This is based on my ultrasound a month ago which is pretty accurate. I now go to the Dr. every week until the end. I asked what the liklihood is that Dr. Fenoughty (my OB) would delivery him. She said that unless she is out of town, she delivers all her patients whether she is on call or not. That made me feel good. :) The only time she plans to be out of town in the near future is in 2 weeks when she goes to Florida to run a mini-marathon. I knew I liked her. :)

We finished our labor and delivery classes a couple weeks ago. Supposedly we know what we need to know now. I don't think you can ever quite fully prepare. I'm a little anxious about the whole thing. . . . about how much pain I can handle. I'm planning on an epidural, but also waiting as long as I can before getting it so my labor doesn't slow down. I'll keep you all posted and will try to post to my blog weekly now to give updates until our little guy makes his arrival.