Finally getting a chance to sit down here and make a post from Mommy. I had a hard time putting the little guy down to do this, but Tim insisted! What a whirlwind it has been this week. I can't express the joy I have after finally getting to meet our little creation, although I know other parents know just what I am talking about. Tim and I had Lincoln brought to the nursery last night so we could get some much needed shut eye. I think the adrenaline is starting to wear off now as I am not feeling as bright eyed as I did yesterday! I must say, it is going to be hard to leave the care here at St. Luke's, but I am looking forward to bringing Lincoln home.

Most of you know, we have a cat and a dog who are very important to us that Lincoln has to meet yet! Or should I say, who the animals are going to have to adjust to getting to know! I think they will do just great, although Buffy might feel a little jealous as Daddy now has someone else to spoil! It will be fun to see how they respond to our cutie.

Well, I am off to get some breakfast!!

Sarah

I can never remember if something is ironic or coincidental so the pardon the title of this post.  While uploading photos today and perusing the photostream on flickr I was greeted by a funny (read: nerdy) discovery.  I'll let you see if you can find it.  I will tell you that I wanted to see the picture of my new son Lincoln (LJ or Link for short) in a separate window.

I just checked and there is a picture of Lincoln Jaymes posted on the St. Luke's website.

All I've set up a photostream on flickr with some more photos.  There are a lot of pictures out there to look at and peruse through.

Here are some samples:

Sorry it's taken so long, more will follow but I had to wait till 9:30 to get a laptop and this morning we've had a lot of visitors and nurses have been coming and going.  At some point I'll catch up.

Lincoln Jaymes was born at 6:32 PM. He is healthy as is Sarah.  He is 8 lbs 9.6 oz and is 22 inches long.

Pictures are soon to follow!

Updated to correct misspelling of middle name.

In the time it took me to write the last post, roughly 10-15 minutes, Sarah's gone from 5cm to 7-8cm.  The head has dropped significantly which is good.

Cathy just had the tech call Dr. Fox and order a delivery cart.  Delivery isn't imminent but Cathy's getting everything ready for when it does happen.

Tim

In the classes we took leading in preparation for the birth we (again probably I, Sarah probably already knew this) learned that typically the cervix needs to reach 10cm dilatation before the head can pass.  Yesterday Sarah was 1-1.5, earlier this afternoon she was 3.  Cathy just checked Sarah again and now she's at 5 cm.  So we're halfway there!  It was said earlier that the first 5 cm (0-5) of dilitation happen slower than the second 5cm (5-10).  If that holds true more should happen hear.

We've really enjoyed our nurse Cathy today.  She's been great.  However it's become apparent to us that when her shift ends at 7PM we most likely won't have a child yet.  It's strange how we've come to rely on Cathy so much and therefore will miss her.  Sure the baby will still come, but it would've been neat to have it during Cathy's sift.

Boy, it's amazing what chemicals can do.  A once painful experience had Sarah smiling again shortly after the epidural.  In fact we both took naps this afternoon taking advantage of both the time and opportunity to do so.

After what we hoped was the start of progressing labor, Sarah's contraction have plateaued.  Labor and dilatation has not progressed on it's own as we had hoped so we are back on with the Pitocin.  The nurse, Cathy, just administered the drip.  Once Sarah is on Pitocin, the baby has to be monitored closely.  As I mentioned in previous posts, Pitocin is a synthentic version of Oxytocin which the body produces on it's own.  There is some negative opinions out there about the use of Pitocin, however in talking with Dr. Fox, he has explained to us that there is much data about the safe usage of Pitocin.  In it's use here at St. Lukes, a baby is constantly monitored once on Pitocin.  Any negative effects, if any were to appear, would be caught nearly immediately.

Tim

Labor is progressing "quickly" (I quote quickly because we realize that it may be many more hours).  However Sarah was contracting harder and has opted for an epidural.  The doctor who performs the procedure was going to have a busy day so we decided to get it done sooner rather than later and possibly having it put in too late and therefore ineffective.

Dr. Stein was just here and put the epidural in.  It was a relatively quick procedure, 10 minutes or so from start to finish.  It went in with only a bit of pain but Sarah was more than willing to trade the pain of a needle in order to minimize the pain of the contractions.

I want to reiterate again how great the staff has been.  Our nurse Cathy is wonderful.

Tim

This morning the baby was quite active and was moving around.  He was shifting a bunch and was in some strange positions so I took some positions.  Note the "almost square" belly.

Dr. Fox just stopped in and evaluated Sarah.  He said the Cirvadil did it's job and as such proceeded to break Sarah's water.  In one barely noticeable movement, Sarah's water was broke and thus the time starts ticking on "Chester's" arrival.  For bacterial reasons there's a 24 hour time frame that the baby needs to come out by.

As a bonus, Sarah, at this point, does not need to be put on Pitocin which is very good to hear.

Tim

So far St. Lukes has been a wonderful choice.  Obviously I cannot compare to Mercy first hand but nothing about our stay here has led me to question our choice in hospitals.

Cocktail - A treatment regimen that includes a combination of several drugs, so that their combined effect is more potent than that of any of the drugs used individually. (source: The Free Dictionary)

After twelve hours of Cervadil through the night our nurse says there have been some improvements.  Sarah will now go onto a stream of Pitocin which mimicks the body's production of Oxytocin.  Ultimately, we wish we didn't have to use these drugs, but after talking with the nurse about what happens if one doesn't induce after a period of time, I understand the need for the drugs.

We have not met yet with Dr. Fox this morning.  He's on call today and he has another patient in an adjacent room so we expect to see a lot of him before all the pushing starts.

Tim

Sarah and I went to bed about 11:00.  We were both really tired.  The night was uneventful.  Sarah didn't sleep well, but she hasn't for what seems like a few months now so this was nothing new.  This morning she is getting ready to shower before Dr. Fox comes in to check how things have progressed.

Tim

So far all is going well.  Sarah and I are "moved in" and settled.  We've met with Dr. Fox and gone over the details of what to expect and anticipate over the next few hours.

The one thing however I will say that suprised me is that despite our preparation from going to classes to reading books to viewing online resources to tapping friends with kids is how many questions I still have.  There is also that "I don't want to break anything so I'll just sit over here and mind my own business" feeling.

Right now we've got a movie in and we're watching to pass the time and laugh a little before contractions start coming.

Tim

p.s. Pictures to come soon.

"And so it begins..."

Those words were said in one of my favorite movies, "The Lord of the Rings", and I can't help but think how applicable it is to us now.  After months and months of waiting and anticipation, knowing this day would come, it's finally here.  The culmination of nearly 10 months of preparation comes to a head as we are headed out the door.  We leave as two, and will return as three.

Will keep you posted,

Tim