Logan's Arrival

Here it is the story of how Logan made his grand entrance. After my false alarm on Sunday, I was feeling defeated. . .I spoke with my sister in law Corey and she offered to come over with her beautiful son and my nephew Owen to cheer me up and for Owen to give Logan a little pep talk that it's not so bad out here in the real world and it's about time to come out now. We enjoyed some pizza and relaxed for a little while. Time flew by and Corey and Owen had to head home for the night.

I remember it was extremely hot that night so I decided I was going to take a cold shower to attempt to cool off. . .and after I decided to just stay in that towel since it was so hot. After my shower I came and laid on the couch with my hubby and relaxed. Then as I had to do every 5 minutes I got up to pee, afterwards as I stood in the bathroom I had fluid again leaking down my leg. Immediately I called for Eric to come in and check out the situation since this time it was much more than the false alarm. Eric came into the bathroom stuck his finger into the little puddle and sniffed it. The reason for this is that Amniotic fluid is clear and odorless. He determined it was not pee and it was indeed odorless. This time he called the doctor since he had about a million and one questions to ask before he would take me to the hospital again after that false alarm and at this point it was sometime between 10:30pm and 11:00pm. So about 30 minutes lapsed and the doctor said we would have to come into the hospital. So I got up from the couch and as I was walking through the kitchen I leaked out more fluid and this time it had a pink tinge to it. This sent Eric on a spree "The doctor said if it has a pink tinge its definitely amniotic fluid, it's time, it's really time. . .hurry up we gotta go". He then whipped out the iPhone and took a video of the fluid on the floor to show the doctor just in case and we left in a hurry and this time while driving lets just say that he went a lot faster than the 50mph he had just done a few nights prior!

Finally we arrived at the hospital. Again we filled out the necessary paperwork and again they did the tests necessary to determine if I was in labor for real this time. First off I was having contractions. . .real contractions not braxton hicks! Then they did the tests on the fluid and ding ding ding we had a winner it was amniotic fluid and I was in labor. . .this was the REAL DEAL!!!! I was now being admitted to the labor and delivery section. Although I was in labor my cervix was still far back and I was only 2-3cm dilated. They asked me if I would be willing to walk laps to help Logan drop down lower and I agreed. I walked laps for about an hour while listening to Eminem on my iPod. At the end of the hour though the contractions were a lot more painful and I was about ready for some meds! Here are a few shots of me in labor at the hospital. . .

Eric thought he was uncomfortable. . . .

Xan my sister in law snuck in against "hospital policy" for a quick visit.

After my laps they gave me some medication for the pain, they told me it would be like I had a few cocktails and it was and I luckily passed out for a little while. Then it wore off and I woke up in pain again and they gave me some more and I was out for the count again. The next time I woke up I couldn't hang in there anymore and I requested my epidural. Shortly after that the doctor came in and started preparing for the procedure. Now for those of you who haven't had an epidural here is the run down of my experience. Now picture this your pregnant (obviously) with a huge belly and feeling contractions that REALLY hurt. . .the doctor asks you to sit on the side of the bed and hunch your back over. Hello???!!!??? do they not realize that I'm dying in pain and have a huge belly. . . I mean getting into position is not really the easiest thing at this point! But I do it somehow. Since the area is sterile my husband has a face mask on that makes him look like he has a beak and he is trying to talk me through this mess. So now they start sticking me with an anesthetic to numb the area to get the epidural in. . .not pleasant by the way and then the epidural goes in. Shortly after it was in I felt my lower right side go numb but not so much on my left. At this point they determine they are going to put in the catheter to empty my bladder. I asked the nurse if I was going to feel it, she said no and continued. Well guess what remember how I was saying I felt my left side. . . yeah so I felt that little procedure! Not a good time for me let me tell you. At that point the nurse realized I wasn't kidding and there was something wrong with the epidural so from there they added more drugs and attempted a readjustment to get the epidural to work. It began to work a little and I was able to get myself to go to sleep for a little while.

Then at 2:00am I awoke to the most excruciating pain that I think I have ever felt in my life! The epidural had completely worn off on my left side and I thought I was going to die. The pain caused me to begin throwing up, which in case you didn't know your not allowed to eat once you go in labor so I didn't really have anything to throw up. I don't think my husband had the slightest clue what to do or what to say but he did make mention of the number of kids I wanted to have. . . (I wanted 4 by the way) he turns around and says "Honey how many kids do you want to have now?". Wise guy right?!? Anyways so the nurses lay out my options at this point. . .basically they could do a new epidural which could either work according to plan or it could not work and at least at that point my right side was pain free. But trust me although I couldn't feel my right side the pain on my left was beyond anything that anyone could handle. So either go through this epidural procedure again or stick it out and deal with the pain. . . EPIDURAL PLEASE!!! So here we go again and this time in about 100x the amount of pain I felt before I had to hunch over again and hang in there. It kicked in fully in a minute and I passed out :o)

When I awoke I was further dilated but it appeared that my water did not break completely and that was preventing my cervix from dilating further. At that point the doctor broke my water the rest of the way. Now that was probably the gush they were talking about. Although I was numb it was like a never ending flow of water. Anyways, a while after that they checked my cervix and I was about 9 to 10cm along and feeling that rectal pressure they kept telling me to look out for. (BTW that rectal pressure. . .not pleasant and rather painful) Also a heads up again not to be gross but that pressure can cause you to fart. . .uncontrollably and I was so embarrassed and my husband thought it was hilarious! Anyways now it came time to push, so with my husband and a nurse on one side, my mother on the other and a nurse between my legs we began to push! I pushed laying on my back, then I pushed laying on my left side, then my right side, we tried pushing on all fours. . . we got into about any position my body could get into and still not making much progress. About 3 hours into pushing the doctor came in to check on my progress and laid out the options from there. I could either have a c-section or try to push with the assistance of a vacuum. I was determined to get him out the natural way and opted for the vacuum. The second I gave the green light. . .the bottom half of the bed dropped out, stirrups appeared and everyone was fluttering around getting ready for Logan!

So here I am and the doctor gives me the green light on the next contraction we are going to push and get Logan out. So the contraction comes and I got 3 good pushes in but nothing, he didn't move at all :o( Doctor prepares me and we were going to try one more contraction. . . contraction came and I got another 3 good pushes in but again nothing. Logan was what they call "sunny side up" which is face up and not coming out. My only option at that point was to proceed with a c-section. I was so upset and felt like such a failure but thankfully I was surrounded with great doctors and nurses who let me know there was no way I could get him out and that this was not my fault. . .I had done everything right. Everything bustled once the green light was given for the c-section. My mother was asked to leave since only Eric would be allowed in for the operation. Eric was escorted to a room to get sterilized and dressed. I was left with the doctors who were pumping me with more drugs and then wheeling me to the operation room.

I remember the operation room was quite cold and thanks to all the meds they were pumping me with my body was shaking uncontrollably. They laid a special inflatable blanket on my upper body to keep me warm and they were testing to make sure that I wouldn't feel any pain during the procedure. It took a while but they finally got the dosage right and I was ready to go. They told me I would feel pulling and pressure (which I did) and then my husband was with me. He was dressed just like one of the doctors here he is telling the family about the c-section before he came to see me. . .

Now before they start they don't tell you they are starting. . . suddenly I felt that pressure and pulling. It didn't hurt but it sure was not a pleasant feeling. I was trying to focus on my husband and from time to time he would look over the curtain and see what was going on. Then in a not to brilliant moment my husband turned to me and said. . . "Jess they are holding your uterus right now". . . I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW THAT LITTLE DETAIL! Then I heard the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. . .the sound of my baby boy crying for the first time. My husband looked at Logan (I couldn't see) and said that he had a big head and that he had a full head of hair. We looked at each other and cried, and with that silly mask on that made it look like he had a beak he kissed me. It was such an incredible moment. They finally brought Logan over for me to see and Eric got to hold him for the first time. From there they continued to work on me and then the resident came over to me and told me I had a beautiful uterus and that my intestines looked really nice as well (T.M.I!!!) Here are some of the first shots of Logan. . .

Once I was all set to go they moved me from the operating table onto my bed and handed me my little angel for the ride down to the recovery room. I was wheeled right passed my family who couldn't have looked any happier than they did at that moment! Here is a picture of us in the recovery room. . . Here is where I got to breastfeed for the first time and he took right to it! I was so happy about that :o)

Eric snuck away for a minute to let everyone know I was ok and to let everyone catch a glimpse of the new member of the family. . .

After about a half an hour in the recovery room I was allowed to go to my regular room which would be my new home for the next few days. Before the family came they had to get me all situated. They don't tell you but after everything is all said and done you bleed. . .not like a little. . .like crime scene. . .someone has been murdered bleed. Even such a short time after my c-section with a little assistance I was able to make it to the bathroom to get a little cleaned up. Then in came the family. . .

Here I am with my Oma (which means grandma in Dutch). . .

And Logan got to come in as well and share in the celebration of his birth. . .

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. . . I have always wanted children and it seemed like I had waited an eternity to meet my little man!

My little family!

Logan's great grandparents!

My mother and Logan's Oma!

Logan's Godmother and Aunt Maria

My two little sisters. . .Aunties!

My father and Logan's Poppy!

The Grandpa's!

3 Generations. . . My husband, his father and our son

My husband and the grandparents.

Grandma P and Logan

Aunt Xan!

Proud Grandparents!

My family (missing my lil brother Justin)

Like I said I couldnt take my eyes off him!

4 generations!

MY LOVE!

The Ponticelli family!

Kisses for Logan. . .

Proud Poppa!

Great Grandpa Luther. . .

Lolo!

awwwww. . .no cryin!

My husband was a natural. . .

When you become a mother your heart grows beyond what you thought was possible.

Logan and his Godfather and Uncle Pete.

The Ponticelli Men. . .

Again my little family!

Eric like to call him. . .moose duce since Eric's nickname as a baby was moose.

Aunt Corey and Logan!

Grandpa P calls him Hawk. . .

Aunt Maria calls him chunky monkey. . .

He looks like his momma!

Bonding time!

Here I am getting Logan dressed for the very first time as we were getting ready to leave the hospital. We could have stayed an extra day but since it was the fourth of July we decided to leave a day early. Now here is some advice for you. . .stay in the hospital as long as you can! After we left I really wished that we would have stayed and had that extra support there and one more day of rest for me.

A family picture as we were getting ready to leave the hospital :o)

Our very first car ride home! I knitted a baby blanket for Logan which I put on his legs for the ride home.

Here I am with Logan napping :o) All you mothers out there know. . .when the baby sleeps you sleep!

Logan napping on Daddy!

Pepper staying with my in-laws until we were ready and Pepper adjusted just fine to having Logan around :o)

So in summary I was in labor for over 35 hours and gave birth to my son on July 1st, 2010 and 9:09am. He weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces and he was 22 inches long. I will love him until the last breath of my life, he is perfect in every way!

*~* Week 39 and the false alarm *~*

First off sorry I have been a terrible blogger I have a new love in my life who has taken over and it was almost impossible for me to hop on my computer to do my updates. So I am going to start at the beginning here and work my way to the present. So for week 39 my husband and I decided it would be a great idea to sit down and watch a pregnancy video about labor, signs of labor, delivery, breathing techniques, ect. I don't know if that did more harm than good but we watched and took metal notes of things to look for. My doctors appointment went well and they let me know if my little fella wanted to be difficult they wouldn't let me go a week and a half past my due date. My weight stabilized with me gaining a grand total of around 47 pounds. But as of that appointment I was still only about 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I felt like there was no hope and that this little guy was going to make a super late appearance in this hot weather. I was still swollen beyond belief and working full time...and every day I showed up to work I got. . ."wow your still here, your still pregnant" yup. . . I was still pregnant! So the week went on and Sunday night arrives. It was like any other night but the information from that video was lurking in my mind, then as I was sleeping I was awakened by what felt like a mini leak. I looked on the bed and there was some fluid there, I was having contractions but unsure if this was the real deal or braxton hicks contractions. It was around 1:30am and my husband decided immediately I was not in labor, because the video said that there are 3 signs that show your in labor and well he didn't see enough signs. I however really thought I was in labor so I called the doctor and then after what seemed like forever I received a call back and was told the only way to know if it was placenta leaking was to come in and have them do some tests. So here we are. . . I'm running around like a mad women thinking I am in labor and my husband who was 100% positive that I wasn't took his time and packed his bag and finally we get to the car and what does my darling husband do at this time you ask. . . he proceeds to do 50mph on the highway on cruise control with me freaking out thinking I need to get to the hospital asap! So finally after what seemed like an eternity we arrive at Hartford Hospital. We do all the paperwork necessary and they get us into a room to start the tests. A few hours later and a few tests later and my husband was as smug as he could be due to the fact that he was right and it wasn't labor. . . . EEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!! I couldn't have been any more disappointed then I was at that moment and in addition to that I knew I would have to go to work in a few hours :o( So we head back home but I still felt like it was better to be safe than sorry. Now not to be too graphic but as your cervix thins out (effacement) you can have increased vaginal secretions, well nobody bothered to tell me that little gem of a fact! Thanks a lot! So back home we went and Monday was a long day.

Internally Logan increased to the size of a watermelon. He should be over 7 pounds and around 20 inches long.

Internally Logan's outer layers of skin are being shed and he is continuing to put on fat to help keep him warm once out of the womb.

And here is what was my final belly pictures! Look at that belly and to that day I did not have a single stretch mark!

and lastly for this post the bare belly shot!

~*~ Week 38 ~*~

Week 38 is here and that means that officially I have about 2 more weeks to go. . . ugh. . . I really hope he makes an early appearance. I went to the doctor last Thursday and had a sonogram done, they estimate Logan's weight at 8 lbs 1 oz as of that day, he is head down as well. That weight. . .not gonna lie scares me a little bit given that he is only going to get bigger. I've been in so much pain lately I asked the doctor if they would be willing to induce me and they wont. . . I was really not happy. . . not happy at all! Although I've been lucky enough to avoid getting any stretch marks I have not escaped the constant swelling. The nausea is getting worse and worse and destroying my appetite. Last night my husband and I was watching Valentines Day when I suddenly started getting a sharp consistent pain in my lower abdomen and Logan was all over the place moving around, I was so excited and thought it might just be that time!!! But it wasn't, I went to bed and nothing else happened other than the usual aches and pains and lack of sleep :o( Right now I'm taking bets from friends and family as to when Logan will make is grand entrance. . . feel free to leave a comment with your guess!

According to my sources. . . Logan is about the length of a Leek around 19 1/2 inches and around 7 pounds which we know isn't true. . .nope not my baby boy. . . my baby boy has more meat on the bones.

Internally Logan can grasp with his hands, I cant wait until he is here to grasp my fingers :o) Logan's eyes when he is born maybe brown, usually when they are brown they will remain that color but if he is born with gray or blue eyes they can change. There are some blue eyes on both sides but I have a feeling Logan will be a brown eyed baby.

The belly shot. . . .

and bare belly . . . .

~*~ Week 37 ~*~

37 weeks and officially full term! It has not been easy. Logan is still moving around quite a bit and it is clear to see that he doesn't really have much room. . . looks like I have a Mexican jumping bean in my belly. . .LOL. The pain is getting worse though, pain in my hips since Logan is moving down into my pelvis, back pain, swelling, I mean I can barely walk at this point :o( Basically I'm not a very happy camper! I go to the doctor for a sonogram on Thursday and I'm hoping that if I ask nicely that they may induce me early. . .pretty pretty please with a cherry on top! But I will keep you posted about that. The nausea is also getting worse as well as the Braxton hicks but I guess that is only to be expected. I did however get some good news. . . my hubby can finally drive again!!!! YAYAYAYAYA!!!!! I'm so happy I don't have to drive him everywhere. . .I'm so sick of driving! Anyways. We are getting a lot done with Logan's room, Eric put together the furniture for the most part of course the 5 drawer dresser came broken so now we are left waiting for a piece :o( I put together the pack and play since we will be using that as a bassinet and I also put together the swing for Logan. We have done some of the Laundry but still have a little ways to go. I have to also put together a hospital bag for Logan and I so we are ready to go when it is time! Alrighty then on to the pictures. . .

Logan is as long as a stalk of Swiss chard. He is a bit over 19 inches and weighs about 6 1/3 pound (although from the feel I got from the Dr. I'm thinking Logan is a bit bigger than these estimates)

Internally you can see that Logan is almost outta space in there. My uterus is going through those practice contractions, the Braxton Hicks, they are becoming more frequent and more intense preparing for what is to come. Logan could have a full head of hair by now and considering how my heart burn I've been having well I can only assume he is coming out with nothing less than a full head of hair!

And here is the belly picture. . .

And bare belly. . .

Counting down the minutes till Thursday. . . lets hope for good news!

~*~ Week 36 ~*~

Again sorry for the lateness. Still taking care of the hubs. So we are def. getting there. In my final month now and this past Sunday I had my baby shower with my family back in New York. I had such a great time and it was so great to see everyone including a few surprise guests! I cant thank my family enough for their hard work I had a great time! My sister Amanda took my camera and lets just say most of the pictures came out at an angle looking all crazy. . .that's what I get for giving a teenager my camera. Here are a few of the pictures. . .
Here I am pulling out a clothing line for Logan from my good high school buddy who I haven't seen in forever. . .


Opening gifts. . .still. . . there's my cripple in the background. . .

My baby sis Amanda got Logan the biggest Pooh ever and there in the background is my sister Maria and my Dad carrying my new stroller from my Mom, Oma, and sisters.

Here I am with my Dad and sister Maria.

Here is Winnie on the table. . .

The favors. . . Maria did a great job!

The cake! Yummmmm. . .

So I'm having a lot of the same symptoms except the swelling is getting worse and worse. Not only do my feet swell but it goes up my legs to my knees. I am still having those Braxton hicks contractions and Logan is very active still kicking and moving around. It was nice that my family finally got to feel him move around. I also went to the doctor on Wednesday at this point I'm now going every week and they are doing the internal exams. First the painful news for me to hear, I'm up to 192 pounds. . .ouch! Then the doctor informed me that Logan is big like really big and from the looks of his size I'm about a week to a week and a half early. I'm about 1 centimeter dilated and next week I am going in for a sonogram for them to get a better idea of his size, position and amounts of amniotic fluid. I'll keep you posted!!!

Now that I'm in my 8th month Logan is about the size of a honey dew melon according to one site. . .

Logan is about the size of a crenshaw melon about 18 1/2 inches and 6 pounds in weight (or maybe more).

Internally he is shedding the downy body hair and vernix caseosa he will swallow this and it will be in his first diaper this is called meconium. Logan is also dropping into my pelvis and is head down. And the Braxton Hicks contractions will become greater.

And my 36 week belly picture. . .

and the ever brave bare belly shot!

~*~ Week 35 ~* ~

I know this post is really late but it's been hard to have a minute to myself lately. Between having to drive my hubby to and from work, work all day myself, walking the dog, making food, cleaning up, and then all of the pregnancy side-effects. . . .well I'm sure you can understand the lateness of this posting. This past weekend Eric and I had our 1 year anniversary, we really didn't do much other than lay around. . .the cripple and the pregnant lady :o) We also spent Sunday with Eric's family for Memorial Day. While we spent time with the family we also washed a lot of Logan's clothes so they will be ready for his arrival. I also went to the doctor last Thursday and I had only put on 1 more pound bringing up my weight to a total gain of 37, hopefully that stays steady for the next 5 weeks! Other than that everything looks good, doctor thinks that Logan will be at least 8 pounds which I figured. I'm hoping for a slightly early arrival but we'll see how that comes out. We have also had the furniture ordered so hopefully that comes soon and we had new carpet installed in Logan's room so we are definitely getting there!!! Unfortunately with the weather warming the swelling is getting worse which is hard to deal with. I'm also having a lot of trouble sleeping, it's hard to get comfy with a big belly! Well enough of my complaining here is what's going on with Logan. . .

This week Logan is the size of a Honeydew melon, he is around 5 1/4 pounds and more than 18 inches head to heel.

Internally, Logan is running out of room and my rib cage is suffering. The amniotic fluid is at it's peak and will start to decrease now, over the next few weeks Logan will put on weight about an ounce a day, and at this point my uterus is about 15x its normal size.

And here is the belly shot. The doctor said if she just covered my belly she wouldn't be able to tell I was pregnant. So here I am. . . all belly!

And my very brave bare belly shot!