I'm going to do my best to describe for you the horrors and tremendous joys of the last week.

It officially (at least in my eyes) began last Saturday. I had been having painless contractions (1 every 30 min. or so) for the last couple of weeks, but I woke up about 3 am on Sat and noticed that they were getting closer together. I went for a walk about 10 am on Sat and by the time I made it home, they were about 10 min apart and getting more painful. started timing them at 5 pm and they were 5 min apart like clockwork. I called the hospital about 7 pm and told them what was going on, but that I didn't want to come in yet. They said that was fine and come whenever I was ready. So about 9 pm, we made our first trip. At the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors, and my contractions were 2-4 minutes apart, however, I was only dilated to 2 cm. So they sent me home with Tylenol #3 to help me "sleep". Yeah right. It did help me to sleep for 2-4 minutes at a time, but every time a contraction came, I would wake up in pain. About 5 am, they slowed back down to 1 contraction every 15 or 20 minutes.
Although I kept contracting (every 5 min after a walk), on Sunday I didn't really feel as though much had changed. I took Tylenol, in hopes of getting some rest, but it was the same as the night before. (Picture is Ezra in the warmer after his bath)
Monday, I went to the clinic just to see if I could get checked for any progress and I was at 3 cm. She gave me Ambian to try to get some sleep (since I hadn't really slept since Sat night). It did knock me out in between contractions, but I when I would wake up in pain, I would try to get up and I was so out of it, I almost fell several times. I remember feeling uncoordinated, grabbing things to keep from falling down, and Mike yelling at me not to get up, but between the pain of the contractions and the disorientation from the medication, I couldn't really make my mind and body work together. Mike said he almost called the hospital because I was really pale and he was afraid I was going to hurt myself, but at 2 am, I was wanting to go to the hospital anyway.
(The picture on the right is Ezra's first bath)
When we got there, they hooked me up to the monitors. I was 4 cm dilated, but they were hesitant about admitting me, because the contractions weren't very regular. They knew I wanted an epidural, but didn't bother to call the anesthetist until regular hours. She finally got there at about 10 am and I was at 8 cm. I debated about getting it, but it still took another 7 hours or so until I delivered. I could have fought the pain for maybe another hour, but DEFINITELY not 7 hours. So I got the epidural and they numbed me up good. But, as is a frequent drawback with epidurals, I was so numb, I couldn't push. So they took me completely off the epidural which slowed the contractions. Then they had to put me on Pitocin to try to get them to speed up again. I was so tired and still in so much pain that they gave me some other narcotic to help with the pain. I can't say it did very much.
When they could feel the baby's head easily, they learned that he was face up. By this time, I was running a fever and the baby's was beginning to creep out of the comfort zone. When I started to push, I was very confused about the manner in which to do so. At one point, the nurse told Mike to look to see the baby's head crowning, but they it went back in. In the end, they decided they would have to use the vacuum. Once I had the extra help, he was out in 2 pushes. I think I probably could have done it by myself if I had gotten some sleep the past 3 days, or if I hadn't been so worn out from the pain of not receiving the epidural in a timely manner. Ezra's not really any worse for wear though. He had a little cut and a big suction ring on his head, but that's already faded tremendously. He swallowed quite a bit of merconium (he had pooped in the amniotic fluid) and between that and the fever, they thought they might have to give him antibiotics and an IV, but thank God they were able to get all the merconium out of his lungs and his temp when down to normal. The above picture is the nurses sucking out the merconium.
I did rip, but the Dr., said it wouldn't have been any better or worse with an episiotimy.
Mike, poor thing, was so steadfast by my side, he didn't have anything to eat or drink all day. He was in pretty sad shape after the adrenaline crash. He was sick to his stomach, pale, and had a headache. We decided it was best if he went home to relax, get some real sleep, and eat some real food. As he was leaving, we learned that they were so full, that I would have to move to a shared room. In a shared room, partners can't stay anyway. It was pretty scary being left with the baby all alone. Especially, because it was such a painful ordeal for me to get up out of bed. But, we survived and are now at home and Dad is doing a GREAT job taking care of Mom and baby.
Thanks so much for the prayers and encouragement. We are so blessed that more problems didn't arise, and that the ones that did, were easily taken care of. Thank God for no C-section!!
The last 3 pics were taken this morning. Hopefully, you can see the ring on his head from the suction. It's just a ring now. Before, it was a giant, purplish-red circle.
More pics to come--I promise.

No baby yet...

Mom said rumors were abounding, so I thought everybody needed an update.

Yesterday was an eventful day, if fruitless. I could tell that the "Braxton Hicks" contractions were getting closer together. I took a long walk and the contractions began to get closer together. At 5 pm I started timing them and they were about 5 minutes apart. I called the Dr., but I wasn't ready to go in yet. At 9 pm, we decided to go. We got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors. The contractions were coming every 2-4 minutes, and I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. They will admit at 4 cm, so they sent me home. They gave me Tylenol 3 so I could try to get some sleep, but it didn't help the pain of the contractions, so I only got about an hours sleep. At about 5 or 6 am, the contractions started slowing down to about 1 every 15 or 20 minutes. At that point I slept for about an hour and a half. They continued to be slow throughout the morning although still painful. I slept on the couch for another hour or so around 10 am. We went grocery shopping, but they were still pretty slow. About 5 pm I went for a walk and got them going again. However, at this point, until my water breaks, I'll probably not go back in to the hospital. I'm in a lot of pain for about a minute every 5 minutes, but apparently it's not doing much for my cervix.

I'm just really tired--which probably contributes to my increasing inability to tolerate the pain. The nurse says, this could go on for days. Hopefully not, but it's been about 36 hours already soooo.... The baby's still moving around quite a bit and having a good ole time. I don't think he's gotten the memo that it's time to come out. I'll update again, when there's something new to say.

FEBRUARY 8, 2007

Happy theoretical birthday baby Ezra! In a couple of hours my due date will have come and gone with no baby. I made Mike take me out though. I told him that I had looked forward to this day for 10 months, and that it just didn't seem right to let it pass with out consequence. I've had a couple more indicators that labor might be on it's way, but I'll spare you the details.










In other news, Mike got to take a ride in airplane on Wed. Isn't it weird that he serves in the Air Force and a ride on a plane is a big deal? It was a AWACS. It looks like a regular plane but with a flying saucer attached to it. It's pretty cool. It manages air operations and troop movements from the air. Mike's squadron performs the exact same functions only they do it on the ground. They flew across Italy over to Sicily and then down to the heel of the boot and back up. Mike was just along for the ride and got to listen in on the mission. Neither he nor I wanted him to miss this opportunity, so we were really hoping the baby wouldn't decide to come while Daddy was on a joy ride across the Mediterranean. :) It obviously worked out though because the baby's still not here!

Well, I'm not in labor yet, but I'll settle for progress in that direction. The Dr. said I'm 1 cm dilated! I realize that's not much, and I have 9 more to go--but it's better than "better luck next week". I have an appointment scheduled for Valentine's Day, but hopefully I'll be seeing the Dr. before then. I'll put a picture on here tomorrow at 40 weeks. My due date!!

Before and after pictures

I actually can't believe I'm making these available to the world. I would be mortified, if I didn't find them so hilarious. I would love to say the weight gain is all in my belly, but I've gained in a few other places as well... I've actually watched my diet and exercised throughout pregnancy. I can't imagine what would have happened if I had taken the "I'm eating for two, I can have anything I want" mentality.

Both of the "skinny" pictures were taken around 3 months. The "fat" pictures were taken at 38 weeks. I used small pictures, because I didn't want to make myself any larger than I already am. Skyla's (the dog) always got to be in the middle of the action. I don't really think she understands that her world is about to turn upside down.

With 2 weeks to spare, the nursery is finally about ready as it's going to be. I have a few more pictures to frame and hang, but the big stuff is done. The alphabet sampler above the changing table hung in my nursery and my brother's. My Aunt Laura made it for me. It had my name on it, so I changed it to Ezra. Luckily, it's similar to Erin. Hopefully,

the baby will be a boy.

There's a picture of the glider and ottoman. It's fake leather, but it's really comfortable.

These are some shelves we put in here for more storage and easy access to toys.

Well, unless I get even more huge before I have this baby, hopefully the next blog will have pictures of our new family member!

Aviano Baby Shower

We had a blast at the baby shower this past weekend. Thanks to Scarlet for working so hard to make it fabulous and to everyone who came. I had such a great time.

This is the food table (my favorite part :), and me in my designated, guest-of-honor rocking chair.

The mum is one of the things Italians put on their house when there is a new baby.

These are some of my wonderful guests.

This is a happy little Italian giraffe.

This is my friend Elisa. I put this on here, to tell a funny cupcake story. Scarlet had baked a couple dozen cupcakes and in a few of them, she had put a plastic baby. Whomever found the baby won a prize. Elisa, being slightly competitive, (like someone else we all know) was determined to find one of the babies. Scarlet thought she had put the cupcakes with the babies out on the table (while the rest were extras and in the kitchen), but apparently she forgot which cupcakes had the babies in them, because after Elisa's fifth cupcake she gave up. You can see the pile of wrappers on her plate. :)

I have a ton of pictures of all the great gifts we received, but that would probably interest very few of you. This is one of the many cute outfits we received, and a Precious Moments footprint kit.



And what would a blog be without a tummy profile? I'm just over 36 weeks here.



Thanks for Elizabeth Peterson for most of the pictures.

Nursery

First, some before shots of the nursery. The first one is during our painting endeavor and the second is Mike putting the crib together.
The nursery is still not complete. We have to pick up the rocker we ordered and we're having a couple of things framed, but just in case (ha, ha) the baby comes before it's perfect, I wanted to post these (so Mom doesn't kill me).
This photo was taken as you would walk in the room. The crib is on the right, the rocker will go in the naked corner (hopefully along with a little nightstand/table) , then the changing table, then the wardrobe. We are still waiting on a dustruffle and bumper pads to go on the crib. We also need to get some sort of cushion to go on the changing table. Then there's our wardrobe (that isn't the same color wood as the rest, but oh well...). This is the inside of the wardrobe. Since baby clothes don't take up that much space, we were able to get these shelves and use them for out-of-sight storage.
So that's pretty much it for now. I'll update when I get the finishing touches put up.
Oh, and the biggest news...the Aviano hospital is open again!! Thanks for all the prayers. God is so good--he takes even our "comfort level" into consideration.

I'm 36 weeks today! My check up went well. The baby is head down, but still pretty far up there, so the Dr. didn't seem to think I would be delivering anytime soon. In a way, that might be a good thing.

We were informed a couple of days ago that the labor and delivery ward at the hospital on base is closed due to some sterilization and gas ventilation problems. They can still do deliveries, but since every delivery has the potential for problems and an emergency C-section, they cannot risk for ANY deliveries to take place there. They have put in an emergency repair order, but it seems like everything in Italy takes 10 times longer than expected. They say it will be down from a week to indefinitely. So, all deliveries will occur in the Italian hospital in Pordenone (the nearest town about 10 min south of Aviano). I would much rather deliver in an American hospital with American doctors, but since the situation is out of my control, I've decided not to stress about it. Who knows? Perhaps the Aviano hospital will be up and running by the time the baby decides to come out.

In order to at least have to option for an epidural I had to have blood drawn today and an EKG. Then I will meet with an Italian anesthesiologist sometime in the next 2 weeks for a consultation. If for whatever reason the baby comes before the consultation, I'll have to deliver with no pain meds.

I have full confidence in the Italian doctors and nurses and complete faith in the Italian health care system. My concerns are mostly about how "comfortable" it will be; i.e. the language barrier (although we are supposed to have a translator there for some of the time and when I'm not trying to push a baby out, I'll probably be fine with the Italian I know), we have to bring our own toiletries, Mike will be able to stay through the delivery, but after that he can only come during visiting hours, I'll have a roommate, no DVD player, no video recording, the list goes on...

We're supposed to go down for a tour of the facilities on Tuesday so I think that will alleviate many of my fears. I think that's all the info I have to update you to this point. Hopefully my next blog will say "Aviano's open again!!".

Italians celebrate Epiphany. It is the holiday commemorating when the wise men brought gifts to Jesus and signals the end of the Christmas season. Unrelated (I think) to this holiday, although it occurs on the same day are the bonfires. The bonfires represent a kind of renewing of the land and hope for a good harvest next year.
These pictures are from Fanna, the next town over. It was the biggest bonfire in our area. There was a dummy at the top. This is where I'm confused about the tradition. I originally thought that the dummy was La Befana (and it very well might be). However, nothing I know about La Befana warrants her adorning the top of a very large bonfire. La Befano literally means witch, but it has nothing to do with actually practicing witchcraft. It's just a really old, bent, woman. According to Italian legend, on the way to see the Christ child, the wise men had to stop and ask for directions. They knocked on the door of a house where a gnarled, old woman answered. She knew nothing about the one they were seeking, so she sent them away. The wise men asked her if she wanted to join them, but she declined claiming she had a lot of housework to do. Later, she began to think that she had missed a great opportunity and went to search for them. Unable to find them, she gave a treat to every child she could find, hoping one of them would be the Christ child. Every year on the eve of Epiphany she visits every house looking for the Christ child and in a stocking hung by the chimney she leaves treats for good children and lumps of coal for the bad children. Sound familiar? Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure why they would burn her for that, but I don't know what else the dummy could represent.
This is a picture of the mountain nearest our house. I was standing at the bonfire when I took the picture. If you look really hard, you can see a tiny bit of snow. :)
I'll have all of you know that I walked to Fanna to take all of these pictures. It was no easy feat, especially for a very pregnant woman. I think it's about 6 or 7 kilometers--round trip.
This is the main road leading into our town--Cavasso Nuovo. The town church is on the far left.
The last pictures are of the bonfire of course. I was able to take a short video on my camera, but I'm not sure how or if I'm able to put it on here. For as green as everything looked, it sure went up fast. In the picture on the right, it's mainly the dummy that's burning.

Random Pics

It has been a very mild winter. We've only had 2 snows and they barely made it to the foot of the mountain. However, about 2 weeks ago when we had our last snow, we took Skyla up the mountain (20 min) to the ski resort to run around in the snow a little. She hasn't really seen snow since she was a puppy. We took these pictures. As you can tell by Mike's lack of a jacket, it still gets up to about the mid- high 40s during the day. We walked briskly. :)

I've also included a couple of pictures of me at 33 weeks (taken Christmas Eve). I look pretty normal from the back right? And then I turn around...

Mom keeps bugging me about doing a blog of the nursery, but I just don't feel that it's finished enough to reveal it. We still need a couple pieces of furniture, so I'm not sure that I've completely settled on a permanent layout for the room. Since the walls here are concrete, hanging things is quite an issue and would leave a hideous mark on the newly painted wall if I decided to move something. So the room still looks fairly naked. I'm having baby shower on the 13th so hopefully we'll be able to put the finishing touches on the nursery and do a blog!

Christmas '06

On the 9th we had both a church Christmas party to attend and a squadron Christmas party. Our church is pretty small, both in number, and in space so we had the Christmas party in the "Fellowship Hall" which is really the basement of the complex we meet in. However, it was so fabulous. The ladies that put all the food and decorations together really out did themselves. It couldn't have been more fancy. Each table was decorated a little differently. This was our table--with a red and gold theme and the desert table is in the back. We had a really good time and it was hard to leave, but we had to get to the other party. Here is the website for the other pictures from the party if you're interested. :) Just go to the website and hit "View Slideshow". http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=c9dwl7n.8dta72ej&Uy=7h4d2g&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=726371980423_892622988107

These are pictures from the squadron Christmas party. It was at Club Bella Vista (the enlisted and officer's club on base). Mike was randomly selected to participate in a scavenger hunt. He and 11 other people had to find various items in the crowd (ie a hairpin, and California driver's license, etc.). I was sitting right up front so I could be close in case he needed anything I had in my purse, so when they made them go find someone to do the moonwalk, he grabbed me! I was not excited. He was hoping that even if I sucked at it, I would get sympathy points for being pregnant. Reluctantly, I did do what I'm sure was an embarrassingly inaccurate moonwalk and Mike proceeded to the next level. He got 3rd place.

The pictures are of my friend Stephanie and me and the group picture is me with the some of the squadron ladies. What a wild and crazy group! The other picture are of Mike and some of his work buddies.

They had a professional photographer there to take posed pictures and since I had been wanting Christmas/belly pictures professionally done, I used my moonwalk leverage. I said he owed me and he couldn't really argue. So we had them done, and they turned out GREAT!