Jacob Brian's Pregnancy Story

 

Oh, how I wish I could go back in time and start a blog before Brian and I ever got married… I did keep a diary/journal back then, and of course, I was on Facebook, but it never occurred to me to document my life via a blog where everyone in the world could see it.  Since I just started blogging, there are a lot of past events that I would like to have on here, such as our wedding story, the pregnancies and birth stories of our two sweet babies, and loads of past vacations.  So to get the blog caught up, here is a little bit about my pregnancy with Jacob. 

Four years ago today was my original due date… they later changed the due date to 7/16/2011 (only one day later) but I will always think of 7/15/2011 as my original due date.  Jacob, however, decided that neither of those days worked for him, nor any of the other days in that vicinity, so today is obviously not his birthday.  And neither is tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or the day after that.  Or even the day after that.  But in honor of my original due date, I thought I might post a little about his pregnancy here on the ol’ blog. 

On November 4, 2010 I received the best news of my entire life in a faint pink line and a tiny blue cross.  As some of you may know, I suffered a miscarriage before my pregnancy with Jacob, and I wanted nothing more in the world than to be pregnant again.  Those four months leading up to November 4th were the lowest time in my whole life.  And it was also the longest four months of my life.  I could not have been more thankful for those positive pregnancy tests.  And yes, I took two different brands just to make sure!

I had a somewhat difficult pregnancy… I didn’t realize just how difficult it was at the time (likely because I was just thankful to be pregnant in the first place), but after my super easy-peasy pregnancy with Olivia a couple of years later, I realized that my pregnancy with Jacob could have been way easier.  I didn’t have much morning sickness like a lot of women do… just a little bit in the evenings during the end of my first trimester, and I also (thankfully) didn’t have a lot of heartburn, or high blood pressure, or gestational diabetes.  

I did, however, have tons of round ligament pain and bad swelling (my ankles always looked like cantaloupes and I would wake up with fingers so stiff I couldn’t even move them) during the entire pregnancy, loads upon loads of Braxton Hicks contractions for the last 15 weeks, and I had excruciating tailbone pain during the last few months.  I was also just plain exhausted the entire pregnancy.  I could sleep anywhere, anytime, and I fell asleep on the couch almost every single night while Brian and I were watching TV (but only after I had the big bowl of Publix Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Dark Chocolate M&M’s that I craved every single night).  Which reminds me, I also craved Simply Lemonade over ice, which is crazy, because… I never drink anything on ice.  Ok, cocktails.  I drink cocktails on ice.  I stand corrected.  ;o) 

January 29, 2011 - 16 weeks

Anyway, because of all of the constant pain I was in and the contractions I had all of the time, I, who have always been a very active person, had to stop doing all physical activity early in my second trimester.  Because of that, I lost muscle tone and became generally weak, which did not bode well for the physical labor that is childbirth.  

February 25, 2011 - almost 20 weeks, heading to Jacob's first concert - Brad Paisley & Darius Rucker :o)

As I said before, Jacob was due on July 15^th and it was one of the hottest summers I can remember.  Seriously, the temps hit over 100 degrees many days that summer.  It.  Was.  Miserable.  I often had trouble just walking to the car after work because I was so exhausted, out of shape, and swollen from the heat.  

Jacob also sucked all of the iron right out of me, and I became so iron deficient that my midwife suggested that I eat red meat as many times per week as I could stomach.  Well, this girl loves red meat, so I had no qualms about fulfilling that request.  The filet mignon lover in me was ecstatic, and I spent the remainder of my pregnancy devouring steak, Mongolian Beef, and Bonzai Burgers from Red Robin like it was my job.  Oh, and I also had to start taking two iron pills per day, but that wasn’t nearly as fun or memorable as having a license to eat as much red meat as I wanted to. 

April 17, 2011 - 17 weeks

Starting around 25 weeks I started having Braxton Hicks contractions sporadically almost every day, and around 32 weeks I started having them every evening.  They were often very painful, and very close together (we’re talking, like, 4-5 minutes apart for hours at a time), so I pretty much lived on the couch, laying on my left side, and chugging tons of water to make them stop.  

The pregnancy wasn’t all bad, though.  I got to live in sundresses – my favorite thing!  So comfy and so cute!  I also had an excuse to let my artsy side come out to decorate his nursery.  I hand painted 3 paintings for his wall, some letters to spell his name, and his light switch plate.  And I was also in heaven receiving all sorts of sweet baby gifts, along with some other gadgets that I had no clue what to do with yet!

Before the shower that my mom's co-worker had for me on May 6, 2011

Momma and me

My sweet girls

Love each and every one of these ladies so much!

Before the shower that my Aunt Joy had for me on May 15, 2011

On January 28, 2011 we found out that we were having a boy and we were completely over the moon!  Then shortly after that, on 2/13/2011 I felt him kick hard for the first time, and it was the single best feeling that I have ever felt in my entire life.  The flutters, strong kicks, and rolls never got old, and I still miss them to this day.  My very favorite thing was when he got the hiccups, and he did almost every single day.  I could always feel them in the same spot – waaaay down low on the left side of my pelvis.  It was like he was just camped out in the same position, never moving around. 

And he was.  With his butt down.  At 36 weeks.   

I spent two weeks at the chiropractor trying the Webster Technique (a natural way to get him to turn head down).  No dice. 

So the following week, they scheduled me for an ECV (External Cephalic Version), which is just a fancy alternative to telling you that they are going to manually turn the baby from the outside of your stomach.  Yes, it worked, and yes, it was as horrifying as it sounds.  It literally felt as though they were moving my organs around inside my body.  It was outpatient, so after monitoring Jacob and me for a couple of hours afterwards, they released us, Brian and I had brunch at Cracker Barrel, and then I went to work.  Ya know, no big deal.

I carried him incredibly low throughout the whole pregnancy… so low that I swear sometimes I was scared to walk because it felt like he could just fall out at any minute.  Little did I know, that was not remotely the case.  In the last couple of weeks leading up to his due date, every time I went for my check-up, I thought for sure that I was going to be dilated a good bit, but every single time I went, nothing.  How was that possible after months of contractions?!  

On July 21, 2011, when I was already six days overdue, I went in for another check-up and he was still nestled comfortably in my belly, not remotely any closer to coming out.  My midwife told me that we could wait a few more days to see if he would come on his own, and at those very words, I broke down in tears.  I was so miserable I couldn’t imagine waiting longer.  She knew right away that was not a good decision, and she told me that we could schedule an induction for the next day, July 22.  I waddled out of that doctor’s office incredibly relieved and only 23 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight.  At least I had that going for me.