Everett Oscar Fleckner

EVERETT'S BIRTH STORY
WARNING: Viewer discretion advised!  :)

On Monday, March 21st, Brad and I went out for pizza at Alpine Bakery, my request for our last meal as a married couple without children.  Just as our pizza arrived at the table we received a call from the Northside Hospital Women's Center that we were to check in at the hospital by 8:00 pm to begin the induction process.  We quickly finished dinner and headed to the hospital in relative silence.  As excited as I was that we were so close to meeting our baby, the reality of what I was about to go through was starting to sink in.  When we arrived at Northside, we were the only expectant parents checking in, so the process went really quickly, and before we knew it, we were entering our labor and delivery room, room 5A.  As I changed into my super glamorous hospital gown, Brad unpacked a little and made our room more comfortable.



Not sure why this pic was taken in the bathroom, but there I am pre-labor.



Room #5A



Settling in for the night and the Cervidil.


After we settled in, Bryn, our labor and delivery nurse for the night, came in to help us fill out all of the necessary paperwork.  By the time we were finished, I felt like I'd signed my name a hundred times!  Bryn also hooked Everett and I up to the monitors.  Once I was all hooked up, we realized that I was actually already in early labor and having contractions.  Bryn showed me how to spot my contractions on the monitors and I realized that I'd been having mild contractions for a while, but they were so faint that I thought it was just Everett moving around.  Bryn left us alone and Brad and I started up a game of UNO to take my mind off of things.  Just as I was starting to relax, another nurse named Jessica came in to put in my IV in preparation for what was to come.  I've never had an IV before and I am, or was, phobic about needles, so I sort of had a meltdown at that point.  At around 10:00 Bryn returned to start the Cervidil and she also gave me an Ambien for obvious reasons.  I think I drifted off to sleep around 11:00 only to be awakened around 4:00 am by some stronger contractions, a really uncomfortable feeling in my you-know-what, and a woman screaming in the next room.  The uncomfortable feeling turned out to be my fully effaced cervix.  At 6:00 am Bryn returned with one last surprise for me before the end of her shift, an enema.  I have one word for that experience, YUCK!  At 7:00 am, Heather, our labor and delivery nurse for the day, came in.  Heather informed us that I was now dilated four centimeters and she started the Petocin through my IV.  My water broke almost immediately.  After that, my contractions went from uncomfortable to unbearable!  Prior to my water breaking, my contractions were somewhat erratic and only mildly painful.  Afterward, my contractions were about two minutes apart and excruciating!  I am not kidding when I say that I felt like my body was being ripped in half!!!  Thankfully, Christine Gordon, our midwife can in right about then.  She told us that I was now dilated seven centimeters.  She asked if I thought I wanted an epidural and I said that I definitely did.  She gave me some medicine to help me relax and called for the anesthesiologist.  He arrived to start my epidural at 8:50.  Unfortunately, he had to reinsert my epidural three times!!!  If you've ever had an epidural, you know that having it done once is more than enough!  Because it took such a long time for the epidural to be inserted correctly, my blood pressure dropped drastically, as did Everett's heart rate.  Christine returned and made the decision to slow things down a bit.  She stopped the Pitocon and gave me some oxygen.  I was thankful for the pain relief and very groggy due to the low blood pressure and medication, so I dozed off for a while.  During that time, our parents came and went, as did several nurses and other hospital staff.  The awesome staff worked hard to get my blood pressure and Everett's heart rate under control.  At around 1:00, Everett and I were both stabilized and Christine came in and I started pushing.  It turns out that Everett is just about as stubborn as his mama, because I pushed for about the next hour and a half without making much progress.  It turned out that Everett was coming out facing sideways, instead of facing my back, as he should have been.  Just as it was beginning to look like I was not going to be able to get the job done, our labor and delivery nurse Heather gave me an amazing pep talk and and after a little more pushing, Everett was born at 3:09 pm.  He was 8 pounds 2 ounces, 21 inches long, and a little cone-headed.  Thankfully, the cone-headedness was temporary!  All kidding aside, he is absolutely perfect!!! 

Ready to start pushing

Our first meeting



Dad cutting the cord



Proud Papa

Tired, but Happy Mama

Our stay in the hospital was rough and our first few days at home are kind of a blur with a lot of crying by both Everett and me.  Thankfully, now that I am feeling physically better, I'm also feeling better emotionally.  Everett is really settling in to life in our home and even though every day presents Brad and I with new challenges, we are so in love with our son.  Throughout the entire labor, delivery, and postpartum experience, Brad has been absolutely amazing.  I am so thankful for him everyday.  He is already proving to be such an incredible father.  More than ever, he is my rock and I am more in love with him today than ever before.  The birth of our first child was a humbling and awe-inspiring experience and I am so overwhelmed with emotion every time I think about what Brad and I now share.

Heading home from the hospital

Hank and Everett meet at last

EVERETT'S FIRST CHECK-UP

On Monday, March 28th, Everett had his first check-up at Roswell Pediatrics and I am so proud to say that he now weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces!  My number one goal when we left the hospital was to get him back up above his birth weight and with the help of Brad and my mom, that goal was accomplished!!!  I won't say that breastfeeding has been a picnic, but seeing Everett thrive and grow makes it all worthwhile.  And, as an added bonus, we now get to stretch the amount of time between two of his nighttime feedings, which means we all get a little more sleep.

At Everett's first appointment we saw Dr. Flax.  A nurse asked us lots of questions, weighed Everett, and then took his temperature.  He was not fond of that part at all, nor was he happy about the whole naked on the table thing.  Next Everett was checked-out by the doctor.  He informed us that Everett seems happy and healthy and is thriving so far!  He provided us with a lot of information, some new, some not.  Finally, he answered all of our questions.  The appointment was over in about thirty minutes and we left feeling really proud of ourselves and Everett.

Heading to the doctor

I'm such a big boy!  8 pounds 5 ounces!

One Week Old!

Quick Update

 

My First Day Home

 

Friends and Family,

 

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and sweet sentiments during the past few days.  We were discharged from the hospital yesterday at 2:00 and were able to take precious little Everett Oscar home.  We were all so excited to be back in our own home and we had a wonderful afternoon with our baby boy.  Last night was interesting, to say the least, but with my mom's help, Brad and I are starting to get the hang of things and we are so in love with our sweet Little E.

 

Keeping up with a newborn is definitely a full-time job and I haven't had time to post to our family blog or send out any updates, but I wanted to quickly share some photos with all of you.  These photos were taken in the hospital.  To access them, visit the following website: http://www.our365.com/.  Under "Find a Newborn Portrait," click on "By Customer Number."  Enter the following number: 499302354214469.  Click "Search."  My name should appear.  When you click on my name, you will need to enter the same number again and the first four letters of our last name.  You should be able to view the pictures. 

 

Love,

Allie, Brad, Everett, and Hank

40 Weeks

40 Weeks

Well folks, I am officially ten months pregnant.  Whoever said pregnancy lasted for nine months was a dirty, dirty liar!  We had our 40-week check-up yesterday, and apparently my uterus is quite cozy, because Little E does not appear to be in any big hurry to get out of there.  We saw Dr. Parker and she informed us that I am still only about two centimeters dilated.  At our last appointment I was told that I would most likely be induced on Monday, the 21st, but that is no longer the case.  In fact, Dr. Parker initially said she would like to wait until Friday, the 25th to induce me, but because it looks like E is going to be a pretty big boy and because I can be very persistent when I need to be, she agreed to just give him one extra day.  Now we are looking at inducing on Tuesday, the 22nd, but I'm still hoping and praying that he comes on his own before then.  Maybe tonight's full moon will coax him out!

Of course, everyone has advice on how to get him out of there soon or how I should adjust my perspective, but trust me, none of it is working.  Believe me, it isn't that I want to "rush him" or anything like that, I have just never been more uncomfortable in my entire life!  I've had a relatively easy pregnancy and because I am so thankful for such a blessing I have tried to keep the complaints to a minimum, particularly when posting on this blog, but I've just about run out of steam.  I no longer sleep for more than about two hours at a time (Yes, I know I should get used to this, but it still sucks!), my finger tips are constantly going numb, I get painful cramps in my right hand when I try to write or grasp things, my legs are swollen, my back and hips ache all the time, I have chloasma (dark brown spots) all over my face, I now live in yoga pants and slip-on shoes, and yesterday I experienced blurred vision and numbing of the left side of my face.  Phew, that felt great!  Okay, on the up-side, we are so very close and E will get here in due time!  All I really want is for him to be healthy and happy, it is just really hard to be patient when Brad and I are so eager to meet the next great love of our lives!

Please check back soon for updates!

Two Years

Today is our two-year anniversary and I can hardly believe it has already been that long since our amazingly perfect wedding day.  It is sometimes hard to believe how much our lives have changed in the two years since we said, "I do."  It is so much fun being married to my best friend and our life together is definitely an adventure.  As we are now only a week (or less) away from becoming parents and beginning our next great adventure together, I am so thankful for the amazing man that I get share my life with.  Even with all of our imperfections, we are truly perfect for each other and there is no one I'd rather go through life with.  Happy Anniversary, Brad!!!  YLUML!!!

39-Weeks

My mom was here visiting us this past weekend, and despite all of our crossed fingers and prayers, Little E did not make his debut during her visit.  Although we are still waiting on the little guy, it was wonderful to have my mom here for a couple of days.  The most exciting thing about her visit was that she brought the finishing touches for the nursery, a reupholstered antique rocker that belonged to my grandmother and a frame that a family friend made for us.  Both turned out beautifully and helped to make the nursery even more adorable.  I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the way E's nursery turned out!  It is PERFECT!!  I find myself walking in there all the time just to have a look around. 

While my mom was in town, she helped with running some final errands and cooking one of my favorite meals.  I was so happy to have her here for a couple of days and I know Brad enjoyed having someone else around to take care of me too.  Unfortunately, while my mom was here, I had one of my not-so-graceful moments.  On Sunday afternoon, I slipped while walking down the stairs in our house.  I slid down the last five or six stairs on my butt and landed with a bang at the bottom.  For those of you who know the story of me falling down the stairs the first time Brad cooked dinner for me, it was a lot like that, only I'm nine months pregnant and I fell further this time.  I was initially terrified and was in a lot of pain for a couple of days, but thankfully Everett and I are both doing just fine.  Since my mom left on Tuesday afternoon, I've enjoyed a few days off, working on a couple of little projects around the house, or as Brad likes to call it, "nesting."

Yesterday we had our 39-week check-up and I flew solo again.  I saw Christine, one of the midwives at OBGYN of Atlanta.  Christine is great and I would be perfectly happy if she were to deliver the little guy.  After a quick exam, Christine informed me that I am now 1 cm dilated and about 50% effaced.  While that isn't much progress, it is still progress, so I'm pretty happy about that.  I talked to Christine about all of the back pain and abdominal pressure that I've experienced lately, as well as my inability to sleep for more than about two hours at a time.  She listened to all of my complaints very patiently and then, in her very sweet way, pretty much told me to just deal with it.  Before I left, we talked about plans for moving forward.  While I am still hoping that E arrives without assistance, we now have a plan for the off-chance that he doesn't.  If I have not naturally gone into labor by my 40-week appointment next Friday, we will make plans to induce labor, which means that, one way or another, we will be cuddling our sweet baby boy in roughly twelve days or less!  Stay tuned!

38 Weeks and Counting

We had our 38-week appointment today.  Unfortunately, Brad was not able to come to this one with me, but it was relatively uneventful.  I saw Dixie, one of the nurse midwives who could potentially deliver our baby.  I LOVE DIXIE!  She is the midwife who taught the childbirth class we took in early January.  I would be really excited if she ends up being the midwife on-call on our big day because she has loads of experience and she is really cheerful and funny to boot! 

During today's appointment I found out that my Group Strep B test results came back negative, which is a good thing, and my iron levels are excellent.  Dixie said that my iron levels are better than hers, so I'm guessing that means they are pretty good.  Little E's heart rate still sounds great, but I am less than thrilled to report that we are no closer to meeting the little guy than we were last week.  I am still only about 30% effaced and not at all dilated.  We were REALLY hoping that Little E would make an early appearance this weekend because my mom is going to be here visiting us from Saturday to Tuesday, but it doesn't look like he is ready yet.  (Sorry mom!)  I guess I'd better get used to working on the little guy's timeline.  I hope I  have more to report after my 39-week appointment next week!

On the up-side, tomorrow is my last day of work for the rest of the school year!  I had originally planned to work right up until my due date, but due to a highly stressful situation that I've been dealing with at work, I've decided to take some extra time off in preparation for Little E.  This has been a really difficult school year for me and I want to ensure that I leave all of that unnecessary stress behind me.  Luckily, after working in the same school district for nine years, I have a ton of accrued leave, so I will be able to have an extended maternity leave starting on Monday.  The timing of this pregnancy really couldn't have been better and I'm so thrilled with the way that everything worked out!  I love it when a plan comes together!!!