Introducing Our Baby GIRL!!!

Brandy: Orlaith Mughain Markey (pronounced Orla Moon) was born on Friday, December 18th @ 4:30 PM. She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. We didn't get the home birth we were planning, but everything turned out for the best. After laboring at home without pain medication for 28 hours, I was only 3 cm dilated. At that point I decided to go to the hospital as my body was refusing to progress the way it needed to. With an epidural and TONS of Pitocin, they were able to get me to progress, and after 42 hours of labor Orlaith finally made her debut into the world. We came home Sunday evening, which was also my birthday. What a great present! Mommyhood has been wonderful. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

40 Week Checkup

Brandy: Last night I had an acupressure massage to try and see if we could get anything started. So far, the answer is no. My massage therapist said it could take up to 24 hours for things to start happening IF it was going to work. We'll see...
We went to see Dinah this morning. Sadly, there is nothing new to report. Dinah did not do a pelvic exam this week since I had nothing new going on in the way of signs. If we make it to our 41 week appointment on Monday morning, then we will definitely have an exam then. Other than that, my blood pressure was good, and Baby Markey is doing well (although back in the posterior position as of last night). My fundal height is 36cm. I have been instructed to sit on a yoga ball all day, do pelvic tilts and a form of child's pose in order to encourage the baby to turn back to an anterior position. Dinah asked me if I had been reading up on ways to encourage labor. I told her yes, which is the truth. She said that those things do work but only if your body is on the verge of going into labor anyway. I have decided to give up on trying to hurry this baby up. It will come when it is good and ready. It takes too much time and energy to try and rush things along. Do I still wish Baby Markey would hurry up? Yes. Am I going to let myself go crazy over something I can't control? No.
So if you can help it, try and refrain from asking me if there is any news or progress with the baby. I promise I will blog about it if anything happens! And I will definitely let everyone know when the baby is here. I know everyone is just thinking of me, and wants to let me know that. I DO appreciate the kind thoughts. It is just really hard for me to stay in a state of patience if I am constantly telling someone, "There is no progress" or "There is no baby yet". Help me be patient!! I really need the moral support right now. I have a feeling if I give up on trying to hurry things along and just bask in the last few hours or days when I have Baby Markey all to myself and don't have to share, that we might just see a baby sometime soon! I give in - officially!

An AMAZING Win!

Brandy: I stopped entering blogger giveaways a few weeks ago in preparation for Baby Markey's arrival. I know I will not be checking email on a regular basis, which has to be done to claim a prize. I thought everything I had entered was already over, but I was wrong. I received a text message from a fellow blogger and friend (Teresha over at Marlie and Me) yesterday morning telling me I had one a fabulous prize! I logged on to my computer and sure enough, I had! I won a Dyson DC-16 Animal handheld vacuum cleaner!

This win came from a blog called Natural Mommie http://www.naturalmommie.com/2009/12/dyson-winner.html

Thanks Natural Mommie! This was a wonderful surprise!

39 Week Checkup

Brandy: Brian and I went to our 39 week appointment with Dinah this morning. My blood pressure was a little elevated, so we tested my urine and there was no protein (which is good). I have officially gained 40 pounds with this pregnancy. They recommend 25-35 pounds of weight gain, but my body did what it wanted to. I did not eat junk food the entire time. I ate healthy for the most part, but I did indulge in some yummy treats from time to time. I guess I will just have to work hard to get rid of the extra pounds once the baby is out! So back to the appointment... My fundal height is 35 cm, which indicates that my uterus has dropped down into the pelvis (since it is shorter than last week). Baby Markey has switched from the ROA position to the LOA position (the back is now on the left side of my abdomen), which is better for delivery. Last Thursday and Friday i was having some bloody show, but by Saturday it had stopped. So, Dinah offered to do an internal exam today so we could see what was going on. I am 70% effaced and 1 fingertip dilated. 1 fingertip? Is that 1 cm? I looked in one of my pregnancy books that has a dilation chart, and my fingertip more than covers the 1 cm circle. Dinah's hands are smaller, so I guess it is around 1 cm...? I am not totally sure. Either way, a little is happening, but not a lot. The exam is nice to know, but doesn't really tell me when we will go into labor. I guess we just wait and see... which is SO HARD!

38 Week Checkup

Brandy: I had my weekly checkup with Dinah this afternoon. Joyce, another midwife who is shadowing Dinah, sat in on our appointment. If she is available when I go in labor, she will be Dinah's assistant. She is super sweet! We talked about the Braxton Hicks contractions I have been having, as well as the cramping that feels like period cramps. All are good signs!! I also lost another piece of my mucus plug yesterday morning. This one was bigger than the first. My blood pressure was good today, so no pee test. My fundal height was 38cm, and Baby Markey finally decided to get into the ROA position!!! This is Right Occiput Anterior, which means the baby's back is on the right side of my belly, the occiput (correct part of the head) is presenting first and the baby is anterior facing. This means no more posterior! Hopefully the baby will stay in this position so I don't have to deal with back labor. And more good news, Baby Markey's head has now dropped down into my pelvis, and they said my pelvic bone is "nice and low". Dinah doesn't do pelvic exams until week 40 or 41, so I don't know anything about effacement or dilation. My body is definitely doing what it is supposed to do though, which makes me happy. I started taking evening primrose oil today. It does not induce labor, but instead acts as a prostaglandin to help soften the cervix. Also, tomorrow night is a full moon, and we all know what that means... People say that there is an increase in births on nights with full moons!! So tomorrow night calls for a good, long walk and some spicy Thai food with my hubby! We'll see if anything happens...