Introducing.... John Robert Singewald!!!

HE IS HERE!!!!!

INTRODUCING......

John Robert Singewald
September 3, 2008
6:32am
7 lbs. 15 oz
20 inches long!

After being induced on Tuesday morning, and a very long labor, John arrived!! Tuesday morning we were given some medication to help me dilate more, since I was contracting on my own. By Tuesday evening, the doctor was sure we were going to deliver later in the day Wednesday because my progress was occurring more slowly. After being given some meds to help me get some rest overnight, my contractions started to kick in harder. By 11pm, the contractions were longer, stronger, and right on top of one another. The doctor changed her mind and said that we were definitely going to have a baby that night! The wait was soon going to be over! Because of the intensity, I was given an epidural at midnight. However, because my heart rate spiked up in the 130's, the epidural was taken out and they redid it, so the whole process was done by about 1am. At this point, I was out of it! Thank goodness Phil was there and we had a fantastic nurse, Helen! She stayed in our room and by my side the entire night. She was incredible! Shortly after getting the epidural, my blood pressure went way down and John's heart rate did as well. Thankfully, medication worked to get us both back on track, or they would have had to do an emergency C-section. About 2am, my water broke, and labor really kicked in. Shortly thereafter, I was dilated to a 6, but that didn't last for long. By 2:50am, I was an 8 and at 3:05, I was a 10! I started pushing about 3:40 and at 6:32, John was born! Had his head not been turned slightly, labor would have been easier on both of us! However, after they used the vacuum, (rather than doing a C-section) they were able to maneuver his head slightly so my pushing was more productive. I think my Irish stubborn side came out too, since I was NOT interested in having a C-section after all I had gone through up to that point to deliver him!

Our time in the hospital went well. Because of having to push for so long, I re-broke my tail bone, so that wasn't real pleasant, but it could have been worse! I am now healing, slowly, but surely! John also took after his mommy and had to spend 24 hrs in the nursery under the lights because he was jaundice. Thankfully, it only took 24 hrs for his levels to come down so we were able to bring him home yesterday. Being released before he was able to come home was really hard on both Phil and I, but we just had to remind ourselves that he was not going to be there long and it could have been a lot worse - we could have been visiting him in the NICU for weeks if he had decided to come early as he had threatened early on! He seemed to enjoy his "tanning" experience though, as he loves to be warm! :)

John is a wonderful baby!! He eats and sleeps very well! Phil and I could not be happier with our new life as a family of three!! Our cuddle time is the most precious time of the day. We both find ourselves sitting and just watching him when we should probably be sleeping! Every moment during labor and delivery, and the last 10 months leading up to Wednesday morning, was worth it. Now comes the fun times - watching him grow up!!

Four Days...or Less and Counting!!!

We are getting VERY close to meeting our new little one! We had another doctor's appointment yesterday and found our suspicions from this week were confirmed. I have a mild case (right now) of pre-eclampsia with significant swelling, proteins in my urine, and high blood pressure. Because of this, baby will be born this weekend, or Tuesday morning I will be induced. The risk is just too great to both of us to let us go longer than that. We will be 39 weeks on Tuesday, so baby is definitely ready and ok to come and meet the outside world!!

Our doctor tried to help get the process started a little bit more yesterday during my appointment and the contractions have kicked in harder since then, although we were happy to hear that I had progressed more on my own over the last week too. Phil and I will be going for some walks today and see what happens. It's just nice to know that one way or another, we will be holding a baby at some point on Tuesday! It's been a long wait over the last 6 weeks of contractions, bed rest, and all the unknowns! It also helped us with the unknown of whether or not we would be starting school. It is sad to say that we will not be, but are thankful we made it through Meet and Greet and to finalize those last minute things in our rooms.

The next post will be a baby announcement and we can't wait! Please keep us in your prayers as we transition from the waiting and anticipation stage, to the parent stage of our life!

And the Waiting Continues...

We are now 38 weeks and....still waiting! Our little one is showing that he or she is in charge! As of 12:00 tomorrow, Phil and I will both have successfully completed workshop and met all of our kids for this upcoming school year. I am pleased to have been able to meet my students, since I think it will be easier to go back in and see them during the year if they have already had some contact with me. However, it's now time to have a baby (after 12:00 tomorrow!) and move on with life (and a nice, long weekend!).

Over the last week, I have continued to contract and at times, not feel the best. The last few days the swelling in my hands, legs, and feet has been pretty excessive, so I will be pleased when that goes down and it doesn't hurt to walk anymore. Being on my feet most of today with Meet and Greet didn't help matters either! We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon and are interested in seeing if I've progressed at all with the contractions, etc this week. If not, I can't lie and say I'm not going to be somewhat discouraged! Again, I have enjoyed being pregnant, but all of these things, on top of not sleeping, are starting to really wear on me after 2 weeks. We are curious to see if our doctor comments at all about helping the process along, and if not, we will be asking for a better idea of how long she will let me go on my own, as well as a thought on how big the baby is at this point too. I think having more concrete answers in something that is so full of unknowns will help our sanity level, as well as planning at school with our subs.

We will continue to keep you updated! Say some prayers that this little one decides to enter the world sooner, rather than later!

Patience is a Virtue....

Patience is a virtue! Phil and I are definitely learning that these days! Much has happened (and then not happened) since our blog on Sunday. The contractions have continued and have made me sick to my stomach and nauseous, but no baby yet! The contractions have been regular for a period of time (like 2-5 hrs) and then become irregular again, which has been frustrating, especially when I feel so awful during them. Today they started at 8-10 minutes this morning and have moved to about 5-6 minutes, but at times, are still sporadic. However, I know that this must end eventually. I will not be pregnant forever!!

We did have a doctor's appointment again today and expected to have some good news that things were changing and I was dilating more because of the contractions. After telling our doctor of the happenings since Saturday, she was pretty convinced that I would be going from the clinic to labor and delivery to have a baby. However, after checking my progress, reported in a surprised manner and with a quizzical facial expression that I was still only dilated to a 2. Had I been a 4 or more, she would have admitted me. Because I am only fully 37 weeks, she wasn't comfortable inducing me or breaking my water at this point to get things going faster, since my contractions since last night have been anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart. Had we been another week, the outcome would have been different. She agreed that hopefully baby would decide to come or stop messing around for awhile and lay low! We have another appointment with her next Friday, but I am hoping and praying that we don't get that far. I don't think that physically I can do this for another week or more and still have the energy, etc to go through the labor. I have really enjoyed being pregnant, but this is starting to wear on me....

Phil and I started workshop again today. The new school year is upon us and our summer is officially over! It's hard to believe a new year is upon us! There will be many changes in the coming weeks and we can't wait!!

It's Almost Time!!

I can't believe we've made it to almost 37 weeks!!! Time has flown by! As I am approaching my (probably) final days/moments of being pregnant, it's hard to believe how long it's been since we found out the good news by that little plus sign back in January! There are things that I will miss about being pregnant, such as the little movements and kicks no one else even knew were going on, or the feelings of awe at this little one we created after hearing the heartbeat and seeing the ultrasound, but having him or her here will be the best miracle ever! We can't wait to meet our little one!!

We were back at the doctor on Friday for our weekly check-up and were told we are about to become parents any day! My body and baby are completely ready, whenever baby decides to come! Our doctor said she hoped to see us in the hospital before our appointment this coming Wednesday, and we hope she is right! I have been having pretty hard contractions since yesterday and was up sick last night, which we were told when we called into the hospital was probably the start of early labor. My contractions today are getting stronger, so we'll see what happens. Hopefully baby won't decide to wait too much longer!

We did try the metrodome theory yesterday by going to a Twins game, but it did not produce a baby yet! However, it definitely made for a nice amount of walking and stairs, which couldn't have hurt!! It was a really fun game though and nice to get out with some friends after not being able to do much this summer because of my bed rest. We also enjoyed going to Canterbury Park on Thursday night for dollar night (yes, we are cheap!!... we have a baby on the way!!!) with my brother, Stephen, and his girlfriend, Katie. Steve and I won big - $40 on a $1 bet!!! WHOO-HOO! Hopefully that luck will play into a short labor too!!!

We look forward to updating more soon, and hopefully with a birth announcement, rather than another doctor's appointment! Enjoy your last days of summer!!

I'm FREE!!!!

Yes, our doctor's appointment this morning went VERY well! I am officially off bed rest, but will continue to be good for a few more days until we are officially 36 weeks....and get through the family reunion my family is helping put on! There are too many things going on to go into labor this weekend! However, we are pleased the restrictions are off and I can go back to being my active self! The baby was great again today. The heartbeat sounded really good as well. I've started to drop and baby is head down and ready to come. I've also dilated to a two and have started to efface. At this point, as soon as I start moving around more, my doctor said that it's still anyone's guess when I'll go. Time will tell!! We're getting close to meeting our new one soon though!! Have a wonderful weekend!

And I Continue to Get Bigger and Bigger....

Time has flown!! It's hard to believe we're into our 35th week! The baby has listened to everyone and stayed content with where he or she has been for the last 4 weeks, so we are hoping to be taken off bed rest tomorrow. If not though, it would only be for another week! At this point, I can't wait to go out for a walk and to the grocery store again! Thankfully, it's only been a modified bed rest, so we've been able to do a few things, such as go to our friend's wedding last weekend, as long as I came home to rest in between the ceremony and reception, and not stay too long at the reception. We made it though!!

Check out that belly!!!

Our nursery is now complete and ready to welcome Baby home! The curtains have gone up and the rocking chair is in place....now we just need the little one here too! We also spent some time a week ago putting together the pack-n-play and the swing, so they are ready too. Here's some pictures of Phil and Matt trying to follow the directions....who would have thought it would take multiple college degrees (and even a law degree) to finally figure it out?! Some portions were definitely not user friendly!!

Bob and Joan were doing their part too!

We look forward to being able to update more again after our appointment tomorrow and introducing you to our new addition soon!