Introductions

Well since the last post was very wordy I thought I would make up for it with a very heavy picture post. Reed is definitely not lacking in the love department. Over the last 7 days he has been held, loved, and cuddled by so many wonderful people:

Reed with Mom and Dad at the hospital



Tio Drew, Aunt "C", and the Grandpas meeting Reed in the Recovery Room

Papa Jay and Grandma Kelley

 

Pepe and Nonna

The lucky "local" Great Grandparents - Cozzi's and Gillette's

Aunties Lee and Amanda and Big Brother Dodger

We are so blessed to have so many amazing family members and friends. The introductions will continue for the weeks and months ahead so I'll try to document all of these tender moments, there is already an "Introductions Part #2" close to being ready.

Reed William McClarty

I want to share Reed's birth story mainly to document the story for him, sadly the details get fuzzier each day, so before I forget much more here it is:

 On Monday September 19th, 2011 I began having contractions around 2:00 pm. They were about 10-15 minutes apart so I didn't bother calling Jon as I knew he would be home from work within a few hours. Around 4:30 pm Jon got home and I told him about the contractions. We were both so excited - I was two days past my due date at this time and was scheduled to be induced that Thursday (which I really wanted to avoid). Who knows if it was the raspberry leaf tea, the spicy foods, the long walks, or any number of the other things I tried, but finally I was in natural labor - just what I hoped for!

At this point my contractions were coming every 8-10 minutes so we hoped we would get to leave for the hospital soon. Jon went into our room to try to rest up for the long night ahead and I made a grilled cheese sandwich knowing I wouldn't be allowed food once I got to the hospital and wanting to have eaten something to give me energy to help me through the labor process.

Not surprisingly Jon wasn't able to get much rest and after tossing and turning for awhile he emerged from our bedroom a little before 6:00 pm. At this point my contractions were now coming every 5 minutes. For the next two hours I walked, I rested, we talked and the contractions kept coming every 4-5 minutes. Because we are about 40 minutes away from the hospital my doctor wanted me to come in when my contractions were at 5 minutes apart for two hours.

At 8:30 pm we got in the car and headed to the hospital. My big thing was that I didn't want anyone to know I was in labor until I was admitted to the hospital - no point in exciting the troops just to be told I was in false labor and then have people calling me every five minutes for updates. Jon plays on an indoor soccer team with some friends, including his sister and her husband who live just around the corner from us. As luck would have it they were pulling out of their driveway just as we drove past. Jon had already told Chelsea he was going to stay home with me and miss the game so when they saw my Tribeca speed by they knew something was up. We immediately got a call and a text questioning why we were in a car headed towards Fresno. We decided to make up a story, figuring that they would understand when, hopefully, in a little bit we told them the real reason for the outing.

We arrived at the hospital, Jon filled out a bunch of paperwork and we were escorted up to the Labor and Delivery wing. I was examined and told I was only dilated 2 cm. I was in active labor, but they didn't expect the baby to be coming anytime soon so I was given the option of leaving and laboring in the comfort of my own home. We chose to go home and left the hospital at 11:00 pm. The car ride was horrible and all I could think was that I would have to do this drive again with contractions that would probably be much more intense.

By the time we got home my contractions were much closer together (2-3 minutes) and much more intense (lasting about a minute each). I was also having horrible back pain due to the positioning of the baby. By 2:00 am I was only getting about 30 second breaks in between contractions and figured that we should probably head back to Fresno. To say the car ride was bad would be the understatement of a lifetime. I'm surprised there aren't permanent finger imprints in the seat and door from me holding on to them so tightly. I was practicing different relaxation techniques and breathing but there was still a lot of pain.

Back at the hospital I was examined and was hoping to be told I was dilated to somewhere in the 5-7 cm range, then the nurse delivered the news . . . I was still at 2 cm. What!?! my contractions were so intense and so close together how can I not have progressed? I was admitted and put in a labor/delivery room. They started fetal monitoring which I actually found really neat because I could see the baby's heart rate and know everything with him/her was okay.

At 6:00 am I was examined again and told that I was close to 3 cm dilated. At this point I had been in labor for 16 hours and couldn't imagine how long it would take to progress the next 7 cm and still have the energy to push. My doctor was great - he listed my options and together we made the decision to start an epidural. My vision of a completely natural labor was out the window, but I would have relief from the pain and he thought my body relaxing could really help me dilate further. At 9:45 am I was examined to see if the epidural had helped. It had definitely been an easy few hours as the pain was pretty minimal. Again I waited for exciting news and again I was let down . . . I was still only at 3 cm. My doctor then broke my water and started me on the lowest dose of pitocin to help encourage the contractions and continue the dilation process.

At 1:00 pm I had made to to 5 cm - Yay, I was finally headed in the right direction. 3:15 pm . . .6 cm (not as good as I hoped for but still progress), 5:15 pm . . .6 cm, 8:00 pm . . .6 cm. What how can this be? Somewhere between the 5:15 and 8:00 pm exams I was given more drugs to see if they could continue to get labor to progress. By 8:00 pm my Doctor sat down with us and gave us our options. Pretty much I was headed for a Cesarean but he was willing to let me have another hour or so of labor and if I progressed we could reevaluate. I spent the next 45 minutes willing myself, visualizing, and doing everything in my power to maintain at least one part of my original birth plan. It wasn't meant to be and at 8:45 pm they started pre-op procedures on me.

I was so drained both emotionally and physically at this point, but the worst part was that the epidural had worn off a few hours back and I had been laboring with quite a bit of pain again. Once the decision was made to have a C-Section every contraction was horrible, it no longer served a purpose. The anesthesiologist was attending another operation and I had to wait about 45 minutes for an epidural. Not fun!!!

After approximately 31 hours of labor it was time to meet our little one and all of the other stuff didn't matter. Jon reminded me that even though things hadn't gone according to "the plan" it didn't matter because we were still headed to the same end . . . a happy and healthy baby.

I really did try to abbreviate this story as much as possible. There are so many details to share; from our parents and Chelsea and Drew being in the waiting room all day to how incredibly supportive Jon was through the entire process. But for now I will leave you with this:

Reed William McClarty

Born 09/20/2011 9:46 pm

8 lbs 1 oz and 21.5 inches in length

Quite simply . . . The Love of Our Life

The Bump

Normally I'm not one to show off my goods, but there seems to be a lot of demand for baby bump pictures. We haven't regularly taken preggo pics, but I thought I would include some pictures from the last few months so you can see the belly progression. Unfortunately, it seems the only time we are good about bringing a camera along with us is when we are going to party of some sort and ironically half the time we are in costume, my apologies to my poor child, I promise your Mom and Dad are pretty normal most of the time!

6 months Pregnant (80s themed Birthday Party at Roller Towne)

Just shy of 7 months along (Fun Day #6)

7 months pregnant (Baby Shower #1)

Just over 7 months pregnant (Baby Shower #2)

8 1/2 months along (Jon's early 30th Birthday party).
Please ignore the ping pong table battle wound on my shoulder.

1 week prior to my

"Due Date"

I think it is hilarious that my belly button is casting a shadow in the picture on the left below.

It's hard to believe that any day now, the little one that is taking up residence in that stretched out belly will be in our arms - absolutely mind boggling!!! Hopefully the next time you all hear from me it will be an easy labor and delivery story along with a much anticipated Birth Announcement.

The New Digs - a post by Cupcake

So as many of you know I've been in my Mom's tummy for almost nine months. Apparently she is ready for me to have a change of scenery. I know this because of two things:

1 - She's been working really hard to decorate my nursery, and
2 - She complains a lot when I try to stretch and move around (hey it's dark in here how am I supposed to know that's her ribcage?)

I kind of like what she's put together along with some help from some very loving and patient family members. So without further ado my new digs . . .

After two broken changing tables Mom finally decided that a kitchen cart from Ikea was the way to go. The quilt with the fancy "M" monogram is courtesy of my very talented Grand Aunt Laurie and the drawing of the tree was done by my Mom's grandfather. She made all of my living grandparents and great-grandparents get their hands dirty (literally, they had to leave a fingerprint and signature) to make me a keepsake family tree out of a copy of the sketch.

This bookshelf Mom and Dad put together from a bunch of pieces and were very proud of themselves for not getting into a fight while doing it (assembling furniture together is not something they usually do very well). Mom filled the bookshelf with books from her childhood and lots of books I received from friends and family with lovely notes written to me inside.

My dresser is actually my Great Grandmother Audrey's which my Mom and Grandma spent lots of time sanding down and repainting. It ended up being a bright orange color which matches perfectly the quilt my Auntie Amanda made me. Hanging above my crib are some pendant flags from Mom's 30th Birthday and a really cool mobile made of foam pieces. The toy box was made for my Mom by her Papa Art. It has seen a lot of use over the years and so my Papa Jay fixed it up for me and Mom put a new sign that reads "toys" on the front (underneath you can still make out "Sarah" from the original wood work). Above the toybox there is going to be a big upholstered letter with my initial on it, but since we are keeping my name a surprise it is blank for right now.

I know - what's exciting about a closet? Well my Grandma repainted all of the shelves for me and my Mom upholstered the back walls with lots of fun fabric that matches the rest of my room. Last but not least above the closet is a really cool embroidered piece of art my Mom's Aunt Laurie made for her 30 years ago!

Last but not least are my bulletin boards (there is actually another one on the opposite wall) and book slings. Mom refinished some old window frames she found in the garage and spruced them up with a little fabric and chicken wire so I can hang pictures, cards, etc. from in the future. Under neath the bulletin board Mom sewed some fancy fabric held up by double curtain rods to make a couple of book slings to hold even more fun books I've received.

I hope you love my room as much as I do and that you come visit me very soon so you can see it in person!!!