Welcome Cade ❤

Cade's Birth Story

Sorry it's taken me so long to make a post, but little Cade takes up the majority of our time now :)  The little fellow arrived on February 3, 2013 @ 3:55pm weighing in at 7lbs 3oz and 19 3/4 inches long.  I started having contractions late Friday night and needless to say I got zero sleep that night.  At around 4:30am, I the contractions were coming every 5 minutes, so I decided to shower and get myself ready.  Once Jason got up and around, the contractions had decided to slow down, so we called the doctor and she told us to wait it out, it was probably just false labor.  The contractions continued throughout the morning, but didn't start to get more intense until around 11am.  At that point, I was in pain, but the contractions weren't steady, so I was still believing that they were "false."  We went through this for the rest of the day and into the night when at about 11:00pm, I lost the rest of my mucus plug and couldn't handle the pain anymore.  Jason called the doctor and she told us to come in just to get checked out.

We made it to the hospital around 11:30 and got checked in and examined.  Sure enough, labor was in progress and I was 3.5-4cm dilated.  They started the IV and I had to have fluids run for an hour before they could start the epidural.  They also gave me some fentanyl to take the edge of some of the contractions.  Finally around 4am, I was able to get the epidural (the anesthesiologist got caught up with a surgery and another patient before me).  Shortly after that, we tried to lay down and get some sleep.  As soon as we were about to doze off a team of nurses came running into the room, putting oxygen on me and flipping me around side to side.  Cade's heart rate had dropped extremely low and they were trying to get it back up in hopes of not having to do a C-section.  We then had a nurse midwife come in and break my water as well to help things along.  My doctor had to be paged in because a C-section was thought to be necessary.  Fortunately, his heart rate went back up so we were able to avoid the OR at this point.

At 7am, the nurses had a shift change. After an exam, I was about 7-8cm and the nurse thought we should have a baby by late morning.  As the morning progressed, my contractions did not.  They were still coming regularly, but they weren't strong enough to get the baby out.  We then had to start pitocin around 10 to try to get the contractions stronger to help Cade out.  We had a 2 hour time limit for the pitocin to work or else we would have to have a C-section. After about 90 minutes, the pitocin had started to work.  I was 10cm dilated and it was time to push.  After a couple of pushes, Cade's heart rate started to drop again, so we had to labor down at that point and let gravity try to bring him down.  Finally around 3:30, they decided it was time to go.  The doctor had to use the vacuum to help get him out quicker because his heart rate kept dropping.  After we got his head out, we found out that the cord was wrapped tightly around his neck which was the cause of the heart rate dropping.  The doctor ever so calmly clamped and cut the cord without missing a beat and got him out safe and sound!  Jason and I were so extremely grateful for such an amazing doctor and a wonderful team of nurses who were in charge the entire time and kept us calm for a safe delivery :)

So after spending the next 2 days in the hospital, we were free to go home!  Here's some pictures from the first week.  My hope is that I will still be able to keep everyone updated through the blog on a weekly basis - be prepared to be bombarded with pictures and an overload of cuteness! 

First bath in the hospital

Just staring at Daddy

Ready to go home!

Our first walk

Trying to open my eyes!

First bath at home

Hanging with Mommy

Sleeping like a Champ

Celebrating his 1 week birthday with a cupcake - yummy!

38 Weeks 2 Days

Welcome February and welcome Cade's birth month!  We're so excited that Cade's arrival is just around the corner (hopefully - 12 days to go until the due date)!  At my last appointment on Thursday my cervix was still closed and there was no dilation.  On a good note, the doc said is still head down and engaged which is mainly what she looks for ... here's to hoping he comes out sooner rather than later!

This week Cade is the size of a pumpkin.  He can be as long as 20.9 inches and weigh anywhere from 6.2 to 9.2 pounds.  Hopefully he's on the smaller end of that range!  He's all ready to function outside the womb and he may even have an inch or so of hair on his head :)

On a side note, Dunkin Donuts has some awesome Valentine's Donuts out right now - 2 heart shaped ones that have a boston cream filling or a brownie batter filling (I highly recommend the brownie batter filling).

Our changing pad cover finally arrived today and that was the last piece I was waiting on for the nursery.  I spoiled myself with a pedicure today (and a donut), so as far as I'm concerned he can come out any day now ... this mamma is ready!!

37 Weeks 1 Day

We have made it to the full term mark!  It's hard to believe that the little guy could arrive at any moment (not going to lie, I think we're both a little nervous and anxious for his debut).  I have still been feeling really good - just a little heartburn to contend with, but Cade is definitely worth it :)  I have officially began the nesting stage - everything is getting cleaned/organized around the house and the freezer is full of meals!

This week Cade is the size of a winter melon.  All measurements seem to be up in the air - he can be anywhere from 18.9 to 20.9 inches and he can weigh up to 9.2 pounds (let's hope he's not that big).  As long as he stays in the oven, he continues to gain about 0.5 oz each day!  He continues to practice his sucking, inhaling & exhaling, gripping and blinking skills in preparation for his entrance.

We had an awesome shower thrown by our NC family last weekend.  This baby definitely got spoiled even more!  We are so appreciative to have such wonderful and thoughtful friends down here who threw us a beautiful shower :)

 Playing the rice game - this was the tie breaker ... winner is LeAnne!

 A shot of the wonderful ladies who put together the beautiful shower!

 Cade's awesome diaper cake made by Julie

 Some of the guys hanging out

 At this point, all I really cared about was eating the cake!

A shot of the loot :)

36 Weeks 2 Days

Wow ... only 26 days left until Cade's due date.  We can't believe it :)  Time has gone by so quickly, I wish it would just slow down a little bit, but I'm sure he'll arrive before we know it!  Maybe by the time he arrives we'll have found a way to make time stand still so we can enjoy him being little as long as possible (wishful thinking, I guess)! 

This week Cade is the size of a honeydew.  He can weigh up to 5.8 pounds now and he continues to beef up the next coming weeks.  His skin is starting to smooth out so he's looking less wrinkly and more like a baby :)  He liver, kidneys, circulatory and immune system are all in working order now as he prepares for his arrival.  Lungs are still developing, but he's getting closer to being able to breathe on his own!

Lastly, I'll leave you with some maternity pictures we had taken before Christmas.  Thanks to the wonderfully talented Traci Huffman @ T&T Photography, we have so many memories captured now that can remind us of this exciting time in our lives :)

35 Weeks 4 Days

35 Weeks 4 Days

It is with heavy hearts that we sit down and write this week's post.  Jason's grandpa passed away this Wednesday.  He was such an amazing, kind and generous man.  We're so sad that Cade won't have the opportunity to know him and that Grandpa wasn't able to hold him at least once.  What we do know is that Cade will have one awesome guardian angel watching over him everyday.  We can only hope that Cade will grow up to be the kind of man that his great grandpa was.  We're sure that everyone will be able to tell Cade stories about his great grandpa and that they make him smile as much as they make us smile.

This week Cade is about the size of a coconut.  He's probably reached his max length by now, but he'll continue to get chubby.  He's probably about 5.5 pounds now and will continue to plump up until birth.  His hearing is now fully developed and he can respond best to high-pitched noises.

34 Weeks 3 Days

Wow!  I can't believe that we're at 34 weeks already ... only 39 days left to go!  I hope everyone had a great New Year's.  I was amazed because I actually stayed awake until midnight (much against Jason's predictions that I would be sleeping at 9).  We watched the ball drop, drank some sparkling grape juice and headed to bed.  We're both super excited to see what great things 2013 brings us :)

This week Cade is the size of a butternut squash.  He's around 5 or so pounds now and can be up to 18.7 inches long.  His kicks and punches are getting stronger by the day, and he's been a lot more active recently.  This is probably due to the fact that his muscles are maturing and he's stretching his limbs out a lot more.  He can now recognize simple songs (which unfortunately I don't sing!) and he's peeing a lot (up to a pint a day) :P

Cheers to a happy, healthy 2013 for all of our family and friends :)

33 Weeks 2 Days

I'm definitely sad to say that Christmas is over, but boy am I happy to have my house put back together!  We had a great time down here in NC with my dad (although we missed everyone back at home).  I had to work on Christmas day, but we still managed to have a nice dinner (with cookies for desert), get some Skype time in and sit by a fire (yes it was that warm here!).  This mama definitely ate one too many cookies over the holidays!  I still have a freezer full of cookies too ... maybe I should scale down next year :)

This week Cade is the size of a durian (which apparently is a stinky fruit from Asia).  He's weighing anywhere from 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measuring as long as 18.7 inches.  This week his bones are hardening and his working on his sucking and swallowing skills.  His brain also continues to develop to prepare him for the outside world.

 Here's some pictures from Christmas day. Pacer couldn't care less about the festivities whereas Stryker and Pop Tart had to be a part of everything that was going on :)  In the bottom picture they are both eagerly waiting for me to share my jelly bellies with them (I did of course)!

Hope everyone's holidays were just as enjoyable :)