benjamin's birth story.

here we go!

so last monday was a weird day. lots of random phone calls and emails just checking in to see how i was doing. we literally had like at least 15 inquiries. then it came time for me to pick out my clothes for the next day. {saves me so much time in the morning... still not a morning person} told nick i was going to wear my shamrock socks because it was our lucky day. little did i know.

went to bed and woke up around 4 in the morning. wasn't sure if i peed myself or what. hurried to the bathroom and peed. came back to bed and it happened again. was so out of it. couldn't believe i was now not able to go to the bathroom enough and had resorted to leakage... then my smart self thought, holy shit. i think that might have been my water breaking. duh. then i laid awake curious. and sure enough was noticing contractions about 10 minutes apart. made it through to the morning since i still wasn't convinced that my water broke.

woke up and got ready to go to work. got nick up a bit early and told him that i thought i could possibly be in labor. of course, he stayed up late playing video games so he was functioning on very little sleep! he hopped out of bed and showered. this was way early for him... i decided to pee one more time before i left for work. i noticed some bloody sediment in the urine. called the nurse on call for my ob and was instructed to go to labor and delivery.

tell nick this. and he tells me he has to go to work! what the shit? are you kidding me? so we do. he's got to finish up some odds and ends in case it is the real deal. {his corporation is based out of houston and they would have to fly someone in, which means his site would have been without coverage for about 36 hours.} while we're there i pee again. and am for sure that my water has broke. thankfully, i made it to the bathroom in time and have no embarassing wet scrub stories to share!

off to the hospital we go. get all checked in and situated. the nurse checked me around 9:45. said that my water hadn't broke. was going to do an internal to double check. sure enough. it had. bad news. finger tip sized dilation. off to call the doc. baby is coming today. {only have 12-24 hours from time of rupture to get baby out. too much risk for infection.}

around 11am my ob comes to see me. is quite worried about my progression. time for pitocin. get hooked up to the monitors. ivs started. pit running. look at the monitor and see the fetal heart rate in the 130s. tell nick it's a boy and we need a name!

2:30pm and still no baby. the contractions are kicking my ass. had thought i could do a natural childbirth. i guess natural goes out the window when pitocin enters the picture. the contractions were absolutely awful. i couldn't even relax in the downtime. and they were 2-4 minutes apart which should have given me some time to calm down. tell nick i think i want an epidural. can't believe i'm saying that. epidurals scare the shit out of me. nick is totally supportive. says only you know what you need and all that lovey good husband stuff. have the nurse recheck my progress so i can make an educated decision. only 3cm dilated. what?! almost four hours of insane pain and i'm only 3 cm dilated. oy. decide at that point it is time for the epidural.

2:45pm epidural time. had a really nice lady anestesthiologist. walked me through everything. i was terrified of having a terrible contraction while i was supposed to hold still. so scary. had to sit over the edge of the bed and arch my back. which is so easy to do while experiencing some of the worst pain ever and with a giant stomach in the way! nick did really well trying to relax me and my shoulders. of course, had two serious ones while she was inserting the needles.

2:47pm no pain! weeeee!!!!! tell nick that i'm in love with epidurals. complain that i was so stubborn and should have done this hours ago. also kid that our baby's name should be epidural. was the strangest sensation. could still feel my legs and feet. could wiggle them. but no pain. heaven.

5pm recheck my dilation. only 3-4. thankful that i'm not dealing with the pain still. was told i had to try to urinate because my bladder was full. they had to pump me full of fluids because of the epidural. how the heck do you pee when you can't feel your legs/stomach? was quite an adventure. nick stood guard in the doorway and i could hear him chuckling to himself. he said he knew what kind of faces i was making without even looking at me. well, of course i had a strange expression. had no clue if i was peeing! turns out i did! yay me!

730pm have a lovely bout of emesis. fun. cherry jello just doesn't taste the same the second time up. was told that it could be a sign that birth is imminent, so the new nurse checks me. a whopping 5 cm. again, i'm thankful for the epidural.

930pm rechecked. 6cm and paper thin. really. 10 hours of pitocin and that's it? am told to pee again... but i couldn't. my first experience with catheterization and i couldn't feel it. did i say, i love epidurals?

950pm another nurse cmoes in to check my progress. apparently, my cervix is swelling. great...

1030pm my ob comes in to verify. they are unsure why but my cervix is inflammed. tells me i'm going for a 'zipper.' not happy. but what am i going to do. i want a safe baby and self. glad that my ob took call for me. he had told the nurse earlier in the day that he wasn't on call but he was going to come in and deliver baby. not sure what i did to deserve that but am glad. would have been hard to go through this with someone i didn't know.

1115pm waiting for surgery. had to pry my rings off my finger. had some major swelling from being in bed and all the fluids. fun times.

1130pm in the or. getting prepped. surreal experience. have a nice blue sheet in front of me so i can't see what's happening. am freezing. supposed to be a side effect of one of the meds. it's awful. try to relax. keep envisioning myself with a jagged incision because i can't stop shaking. so glad that nick is by myself. he really has been great through the whole thing. sigh. i love him and can't imagine going through this with someone any less supportive.

1144pm baby benjamin ryan pressner is here! after finding out the sex, i ask if he has hair! nick and i had lots of debates about who bean would take after... lots of hair. but blonde. and dark blue eyes. an even mix. we'll see if the eyes stay...
anywho.

1150pm baby is coming over to visit mom. what does mom do? puke. nice. am throwing up while they are wanting to take our first family picture. they snap one of nick and baby since it's taking me a bit and this is what we get. ben's first picture... yes, he really was that blue. and yes, nick really was that proud. ;o)


turn my head right after vomiting, have tears streaming down my face from vomiting, and get this picture. not too shabby!


they take nick and baby to the nursery. he snapped this pictures. we had talked about him taking one with baby on the scale ages ago. he doesn't remember this conversation. so glad he got this one! oh and pardon the nudity... ;o)





and off to recovery room i go. and stay there until about 2am. they give me demerol for the shaking and load me up with warm blankets. ahhh, warmth and no convulsing. awesome. oh and ice chips. so tasty! hung out in post op because it was taking forever for the feeling to return to my legs.

get to see nick after the delivery for the first time hours later. he's chilling in the room waiting for me. says nursery is working on baby. am anxious to breast feed. but know the nurses have to get me settled in.

ask nick if he named baby while i was in recovery. he promised he didn't. said he would never make such a huge decision without me. told me that baby did not look like one of our names. hrmph. not sure i believe him since i have yet to see the lil guy.

5am ish... they finally bring baby bean to the room. he seems tiny for eight pounds. big head. kinda thankful i had to have a c-section!

the we're parents picture!!


and mommy and baby's first picture. yeah, nick could have tidied my hair. and maybe snapped my gown. but whatevs. we have it. and that's life. it's imperfect. just thankful that my new lil guy is perfect. ;o)


so that was our whirlwind 24 hours. totally not what i would have imagined my first birthing experience to be. but with me, i've learned to expect the unexpected. that life rarely does what i think it should or want it to and that's just the way it goes!

more first few days stories soon! and if you made it through this whole post... i'm so proud. it was a doozy!

6 days later.

can't believe it.
figure i'm going to update the birth story tomorrow. on his one week anniversary. ;o)
we're doing good. need to rearrange mr. ben's days and nights... we'll get there!
have a newbie shoot set up for later this week. totally excited.
have been editing pics out the wazoo.
just a few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

kinda dark. taken while he was napping this afternoon.


our first self family photo. taken yesterday {3.29.09}
nick hates the pillow on his ear, so we retook it. i like this one for mr. ben's expression!


totally makes him look chubola.


saturday night. first day home!


a random half awake picture...


proud poppa. from saturday evening too...

a mini update.

we're home. safe and sound. and before the stupid weather came back.
still settling in... know that might take some time.
found out that i have a new family member that blogs. check out two benny bean photos here.
thanks megs. ;o) means i don't have to upload pics right now... a new thing to add to the growing to do list. which includes hitting babies r us soon!

meet ben.

benjamin ryan pressner. aka our little brp. ;o)
march 24, 2009. 11:44pm. 8 pounds. 0 ounces. 19 3/4 inches.

not the greatest picture and i'm saving the first family picture and some that may need to be censored for the massive blog post on how little benny bean came to join us. picture is from today. snapped quickly while he was chilling. he has been quite the calm, little guy. hope he stays that way.

we're still at the hospital. yes, still. leaving tomorrow morning. hope to update with some more detailed information on the delivery then. but for now, i'm off to nap!

it made me snort.

like 4 or 5 times.
definitely the movie to watch after a long work week....
friday nick and i saw i love you, man.

love when you see a movie and not all the funny parts have been showed in previews! so glad we weren't disappointed. have already discussed that we will own this movie. only if nick stops quoting the one majorly annoying line from it... i kid. he just won't be able to watch it with me. ;o)

40 weeks.

we made it. the start of my 40th week of pregnancy. crazy. seems like just yesterday i was peeing on a stick. ;o)

first, lemme share a pic from last week. made nick go get the cord out of the hospital bag.
ignore the conan hair. think this one was taken at the end of the day. whatevs... maybe it's my ode to conan.


and from today.


dude. maybe purple isn't the color. can you same grimmace?

yeah, not sure why that's so darn small... but can you see the resemblance? ;oP

doing about the same. peeing hourly at night. so much fun. especially trying to get my ass out of bed. thankfully, nick has been sound asleep.
walked a few times throughout the neighborhood. totally kicks my ass. we've done 1-2 miles each time. killer after working all day! so my feet hurt, my back aches. but what else can i expect? glad i'm not nauseated or on bed rest.

had a spurt of nesting-ness. the refrigerator is spotless. yes, the inside. no expired items. washed drawers and shelves. looks so pretty. almost makes me want to take a picture. seriously! and i have been cleaning my scrap area after each creation. that never happens.

speaking of scrapping. got an awesome box of goodies from some friends. so, so sweet. loving all the stuff. can't wait to dig in and scrap the bean. heck, i just wanna meet bean at this point!

my husband.

is too darn cute.
i just love him. love his excitement. his support. i truly cannot imagine doing this alone. or with someone who didn't want to be a dad.
he's in daddy nesting mode. taking some of our shower items out of the boxes and assembling. putting the car seat base in my car. deciding we do need a cosleeper bassinet. washing bean's swaddlers.
and he's even gone to meijer twice already this week for grapes. yeah, i'm not sure what my grape craving is all about but he goes. no questions asked. sigh. i told you he was dreamy. ;o)
i really can't wait to see him with bean.

i have a theory...

on nesting.
i don't think that nesting means a baby is coming. nope. i believe the opposite. crazy pregnant woman goes on cleaning spree and over does it and then baby comes. make sense? oh well. just in case, i'm thoroughly cleaning my scrap area. ;o)
had my visit today. if i don't deliver by next tuesday, he's gonna check me. then it's one more week until we discuss induction. oy. otherwise, everything is still good. i was uber hungry this week. totally showed on the scale. boo. but we were able to squeeze in two walks yesterday and today. this weather is gorgeous. and yes, my feet hurt by the end of the day but it's good for me and bean, so i'll suck it up.

no pictures. too lazy to drag the cord from the packed hospital bag...
how bout some of my favorite things right now.

these slippers from old navy. way comfy. i mean what's not to love about a padded flip?!


these bookmarks. we buy ours at borders. i've been a reading fool as of late, maybe that's my nesting?! anywho. and these are totally helpful when i fall asleep while reading. ;o)

i always get deodorant spots on my shirts. always have. not sure what my deal is. saw an advertisement for these in a container store magazine ages ago. picked them up and LOVE them. they totally work. and it made nick realize i wasn't the only one who ended up with deodorant on their shirt!!


think those are my three biggies.
have read tons of books lately. check out goodreads if you are interested in what they were. trying to read more off of the big read. we'll see how that goes....
nick and i have also watched a few movies. madagascar 2, role models, my best friend's girl, and i'm totally forgetting another. all good. nick now wants to own role models. i'm okay with that i love paul rudd.... he laughed hysterically at my best friend's girl. it helps to have low expections. sorry, i'm a pessimist.
oh the others were max payne and pineapple express. and if i've already blogged this. i blame the bean.
alright. enough cleaning procrastination... must get back to work.

i don't know why...

but after 9 months of referring to baby as bean, no one has made a comment on its name having bean in it.
then there's jen. my rsc boss...
had been emailing her this evening about the lack of scrapping that has been occurring the past week, discussing deadlines, and all that fun stuff. somehow we get on the topic of naming bean. and she asks, 'So, are you naming bean Lima, Pinto or Jelly? I bet Jelly if it's a girl!'
how freaking hilarious is that?!
i'm totally cracking up.
then i get this in my inbox... 'AND if it comes early, like on the 17th, how about Green Bean?'
followed by, 'oh, and if bean is really skinny ... how about String?'
then nick calls on his way home from volleyball and asks why i'm laughing.
so i'm telling nick and he's laughing with me as i read our email conversation to him and he replies, 'what about jumping since it is so darn active?'

ps. fat picture tomorrow. ;o)

oh, i'm sorry.

nick complained the other night that the bean was kicking him.
what? you complain because for the first time since i've been pregnant, you've felt the bean's presence while you were sleeping. sorry, i snuggled up a bit too close and you could feel baby kicking your back through my belly.
but my belly is a buffer. so if you can complain about bean kicking you throughout the night, why can't i? or even complain all day long? and it was the first time. in 9 1/2 months. i deal regularly with this discomfort/sensations...
okay, i'm not really giving him a hard time. i thought it was so funny and cute!
glad nick could feel it and was a bit annoyed. ;o) i'll take the discomfort knowing it's moving around in there over no discomfort and worrying....

nick always makes me laugh when it comes to bean's movements. especially when bean is kicking/punching the crap out of my stomach and he stares at the violent movements.
hilarious.

bean's room.

final product. i think. ;o)

sorry about lighting. but hopefully, you get the idea.
looking into the room from the doorway.


not sure what is up with the funky shadow. i apologize...
a different view from the doorway view. carpet/rug was a recent addition. carpet was not going to get replaced. found this at lowes and thought, why not?!


crib purchased by my awesome grandma. see the halloween theme she was worried about?! ;o)


head on shot. blurry? not sure why. sorry.


bookshelf i painted way back when. realized it wasn't gonna cut it so we ended up buying a bigger one.
sponge bob hand drawn and colored by nick's 'stepsister' so much easier to describe her that way than his dad's girlfriend's daughter.


newly purchased bookshelf from crate and barrel. love it! you can't tell from the picture. but some of the backs are open so the orange wall shows through. and these aren't even half of the books. have two rubbermaid containers waiting for bean to get older. super generous donation from nick's aunt! ;o)
again, stupid shadow... sorry.


awesome canvas prints i found at art.com. yuko lau is the artist.


nightstand. cheapie lamp from target. an awesome clock i found from target too. you can change the colors. i think there is like 7 combos or something. fun!


a giraffe i absolutely adore and an etsy print...
close up of the top of the bookshelf. might have to rearrange. unsure about this...


bean's doll collection. love them!


the closet. nick did an awesome job installing the organizers. still a work in progress...
if you have organizational tips, send em over!

a close up of the bedding. which can be seen here.... which was the total inspiration for the room. well, i kinda knew i wanted something with these colors and i just happened to find it. yay!


k. think that's it. ;o)

36 vs. 38 weeks.

for your viewing pleasure?!

no, the blue/pink color combo was not planned. yes, i am a dork. but no, i'm not that sharp right now!

next post...
bean's room.
maybe even a double post day.

really?

yesterday was national napping day?!!
seriously, i had no clue. and to post about my love of naps that day... purely coincidental. awesomeness.

so the ob visit went well today.
everything is normal and measuring okay. excited to find out that he isn't all about the dilation and effacement. won't check that weekly. said maybe a few days before the due date... otherwise, it's a waiting game. discussed the rules of when to go to the hospital. contraction guidelines! nick tattled on my braxton hicks from friday. thought it was no big deal. i'm sure it's just a week of me busting ass at work. have had no troubles this week. so i really think that was the case.

and i suck. no pics. blame rainy, cloudy, overcast day. fingers crossed tomorrow is sunshine-y even if it is going to be 30 degrees colder... boo!

i<3 naps

except when i sleep away the afternoon!
feeling better now, so i guess it was worth it.
i owe you guys a fatty shan picture. maybe tomorrow. forgot to snap one today before the nap and now the lighting sucks. will hopefully, be able to get some good pictures of the bean's room too.

found out the storm last night left us shingle-less. a few over the nursery. and i guess there's a flapping section on the other side of the house. gotta love neighbors. especially ones that stop jason as he's coming to borrow our shopvac due to their basement flooding and make him call and tell us! definitely wouldn't have noticed on the way out this morning too dark. don't know how we could have missed seeing it on the way home though... there's quite a few missing. had someone come out for an estimate today. another one coming tomorrow. should be fixed in a few days.

for you locals... if you like caramel and you like cake, you NEED to check out butterfingers caramel cake. SO good. a rep brought it in today. i swear, i could have eaten the entire thing. so not kidding.

as for the bean, nothing too new and exciting. feeling pretty good. just tired. but what else is new?!

oh and michelle, the bag is packed. figured you needed that update. ;oP

relaxed.

feeling better.
i think that since bean is dropping the pains to my rib have decreased. thankfully!
going to post a few random things that are making me happy. just because i feel like such a freaking whiner as of late...

-shamrock shakes. had my first one today. yum.


-that it's almost the weekend. and that we get more daylight starting sunday! boo on losing the hour of sleep, but i'm all for sunlight!
-my super sweet hubs. picked me up some lavendar epson salts and a hot water bottle the other day. took a bath earlier today. smell nice and lavendar-y and my legs don't hurt! that and he cooked dinner while i slept the other day. and the hot water bottle worked wonders on kidlet's rib pains yesterday. glad the doc suggested it. otherwise, i would have stayed far, far away.
-that my coworkers are having yoga pants day with me tomorrow. i'm having the darndest time keeping my scrubs over the bump. and the shirts are just too darn short now. they laugh at me constantly hiking my pants up and when i bitched about it today, i said screw it. yoga pants friday. my boss agreed. ;o) and yes, i'm going shopping for longer shirts tomorrow. of course, according to the coworkers this means imminent delivery and waste of money on clothes i won't wear.
-a letter in the mail from my aunt saying that this pregnancy could be worse... and then finding an article about octomom with a picture of her insanely huge belly!
-that the nursery is done. few minor deets to work out. still have to pack the bags. this weekend, i swear.
-finding super cute socks at target. hey, if i'm gonna try and prevent the swelling while being on my feet all day, my sexy knee high socks should have super cute patterns and designs. also found a maternity shirt that fits and isn't insanely hideous.
-getting some nice, relaxing music from the mil for delivery. she's got a yoga hook up. which rocks... nick's working on getting them on the ipod. however, if i listed to all of it during labor that would mean labor would last like 3873029 hours. so i'm hoping i don't hear it all. ;o)
-having date night with nicholas tomorrow. so exciting... babies r us and motherhood. followed by dinner. sweet. oh and maybe a new table for the kitchenette area! we know how to spend a friday night. ;o)
-and lastly, winning a book from goodreads. i sure hope it's good!

weekly checkups.

got back from my doctor's appointment.
all is well. said bean is in position and ready whenever. holy shit!
;o)
also lost a pound from last week. was REALLY careful with what i ate. the doc was so proud.
complained to him about this pulled muscle/kid kicking my ribs pain that is almost constant. said it's a small price to pay for a baby in a few weeks. really? of course, a man would say that. i kid. just gonna continue to suck it up and take some tylenol. he even said i could apply a heating pad for a bit if it was that bad. which is good to know.
peeing hourly. oh so fun. especially during the night. unfortunately, my flopping like a fish is now affect nick's sleep. oh well, he better get used to it.
also had a few people tell me i am carrying lower. including nick. we'll see. i don't notice much except the peeing.
oh and i'm not exhausted. nice but scary. have heard that means bean is imminent. well, it is but you know?!
all i got. still pictureless.
sorry.
would share some byom stuff but i know i have some readers that might receive some of the creations. so no peaking yet. after kidlet.

otherwise, got lots to work on. projects for rsc. a few books on my list to read. knitting if i decide to tackle that again after our class last tuesday. and playing rockband with nick. it seems to soothe the bean. we'll see if that is the case when it's out and about. can you imagine, metal calming the bean down. ha!

oh yeah, got a fun letter from my grandma. my mom wrote it to her when she was about 8 months pregnant with me. hoping to scan the pages soon and keep it in bean's album. still hoping to work on some pages from nick and i to the bean. oh and can i call my mom a not nice word? she talks about how she gained like a half a pound in 3 weeks?! what is that?! unfair. again, i'm joking. i did lose a pound last week. ;o)

oh and you should have nursery pics this week. nick's hanging the pictures now. and it's done!
might wait and share those when robin comes and takes pictures of us in there.... not sure!

37 weeks.

and exhausted.
the late night get together with friends so didn't help. and thanks for letting me pass out on the couch guys. ;o)
have pics from last week. too lazy to post.
didn't take pictures yet today. maybe tomorrow. had a late night last night {christmas in february with the friends!} then got up early to head to harrisons with nick's mom's side of the fam for my birthday celebration. got this cutie for bean's room. good times.
now i'm home, ready for a nap and nick's at volleyball. figured i should update.

so 37 weeks. can't believe how time flies. yes, i say that a lot but it's so true. nick and i were talking about that while we were laying in bed this morning. he told me he would miss our morning talks. that he would have to bring bean in, so they could continue!
had my check up last week. i'm now on weekly visits! got yelled at for my weight. oh well, i really don't think i've been that crazy. or maybe i should blame those pesky coldstone cupcakes i blogged about a while back. ;o)
otherwise everything is okay. and we've finally made all the payments towards our bill. woohoo!
can't believe bean could be over 6 pounds. and considered full term. nuts! and i still need to pack the darn hospital bag.
totally thought i had given myself salmonella this week. not fun. i had grabbed a peanut butter granola bar and thought nothing of it. wednesday i was sicker than a dog. hot/cold. sweating up a storm. sick. not fun. when i got to work on thursday it dawned on me that it could have been recalled. yes, it had been that long since i had eaten one of the bars. after some research, i found out they weren't recalled. phew. but ever since kidlet has been kicking the shit out of my ribs. it's lodged under the right ribs. painful. can totally stop anytime!