I'm still here... I promise!

It's been a week since I last posted, but as you can imagine I have my hands full with a newborn and a 16 month old.

All is going well with Jaxson here. Jayden LOVES his baby brother! He's constantly giving him kisses and hugs and saying "baby". He is a bit upset that he doesn't get as much "Mommy time" as he used to but he does pretty good. I try to make sure I set aside time for him with just me too.

Jax is my little "booby baby" as I call him. He is either eating, sleeping, or pooping...which is common for a week old baby, but he loves his Mom and knows who feeds him. :) He spends a lot of time attached to me. He's pretty good about eating every 2-3 hours during the day, but he then marathon feeds from about 7pm to midnight when we finally settle in for bed (the night time routine with both boys has proved to be the biggest adjustment thus far). However, he's a GREAT sleeper at night and I have yet to have him wake me in the middle of the night. I'm actually the one waking HIM up to feed because otherwise my poor boobs feel like they'd explode! We usually wake up around 8am for the day.

We have to go back into the doctor on Friday for a lactation check-up because they want to make sure he's gaining appropriately. He was 6 pounds and 6 ounces last Friday, so even though he lost more than they wanted to see, he is still gaining. All other check-ups have been passed beautifully and he's just a healthy, but small little boy. And he lights up my life just like his big brother. :)

As for me? Recovery has been good and fast. Still slightly sore, but I haven't had to take any meds for recovery and I'm steadily losing the baby weight. Only 10 more pounds until I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I can also fit into quite a few of my regular outfits. :) Still adjusting to the new night routine, but I get a great amount of sleep so I can't complain. :)

I'll post more pictures when I can. Off to feed my "Booby Baby"!!

The Birth of Jaxson Robert

Jaxson Robert Andresen
April 5, 2009 @ 6:13pm
7 pounds even

18.5 inches long

So the (long) story goes something like this:

I had my 39 week appointment on Friday, April 3rd, and I was 3cm and 80%. I had my membranes stripped (which didn't hurt at all like it did with Jayden) and I soon started losing bits of my plug and was having Braxton Hicks roughly every 15-20 minutes. Following the advice I was given when I was anxiously awaiting Jayden's arrival, I decided that Aaron, Jayden, and I needed to go for a walk, so we walked around Alderwood Mall for a few hours. The contractions continued, but at the same intervals and intensity.

Saturday, April 4th continued with more random Braxton Hicks. Later that night we went to hang out with an old childhood friend of Aaron's in Shoreline. They invited us to a small park at an abandoned school near their home to play a game of softball. I didn't actually play since having hard balls fly at my unborn child didn't sound like a wise idea, but I got just as much of a workout running up and down the hills after Jayden. Needless to say I was exhausted by night's end. Braxton Hicks continued as usual. No big deal...I barely noticed them.

When I woke up at 7:30 am on Sunday morning, April 5th, I noticed I felt "wet". Instantly thinking it was my water, I dashed to the bathroom to find myself bleeding slightly. I called the hospital just to make sure it was normal and not because I'd over-exerted myself the past few days. The nurse confirmed it was my "bloody show" and soon after I started contracting roughly every 5 minutes. To me, they weren't intense enough to be considered real labor. I was still able to move around and do all my daily activities. Around 11:00 am, I started to notify family that "today might be the day" and to stay alert on baby watch. The contractions were still 5 minutes apart and, while they were getting more intense and relatively painful, they still weren't enough to stop me dead in my tracks.

Once I put Jayden down for his afternoon nap around noon, they started to get intense so we called my mom and she came over with my aunt. We started timing them at 1:00pm. They were still every 5 minutes apart. At around 4:30pm I was definitely in the throws of active labor and even though I knew it was coming, I didn't realize how close I actually was. I didn't want to go to the hospital because I still felt okay enough to labor at home, but I called L&D to check and they urged me to come in as did my mom. They must have sensed I was closer to delivery than I thought I was. In comparison to Jayden's birth, I felt great! There was no way (in my mind) that I was more than 5cm dilated...at the most. I ended up giving in and saying "Ok, well lets just go and get checked". At least I could relax in their jacuzzi tub while laboring, right?? We were waiting for Tommy and Samantha to come and pick Jayden up at our house and then all of a sudden...WHAM! Transition hit in full force and all I could do was scream through the contractions. They INSTANTLY (and I'm not kidding when I say that!) went from 5 minutes to 2 minutes apart.

We left for the hospital around 5:00pm. During the whole 20-30 minute car ride to the hospital I kept telling my mom that I had to push. She almost pulled over the car to call 911 because she thought we were going to have the baby in the car. I was NOT going to deliver my baby on the side of the freeway!

As soon as we arrived at the hospital around 5:30pm, my mom hopped out of the car in panic mode and rushed to the nurses' station. Since they knew I was on my way, they had nurses waiting and my room already prepped. The nurses rushed me straight in to L&D...they didn't even bother to check me into triage! Again, they must have known better than me that a baby was imminent...and FAST! Everything from that point went so quickly that it was just a blur. I was instantly stripped of my clothes, thrown into a gown, hooked up to IV fluids because I was getting dehydrated, and placed on the bed for a cervical check. Much to my surprise, I was dilated to 8cm! I cried out of both shock that I was actually 8cm and not the 5cm I thought I was and agony that I still had 2cm to go. I felt like I had to push...are you kidding me??!!

It was at this point that everything became so surreal and started to really hit me. I was trying to achieve a drug-free birth, but once transition hit (and me not knowing at the time that's what it was) I was in so much denial that I could actually be farther along in my progression than I thought that I felt there was NO WAY I could make it through the rest of my labor drug-free. I was so afraid that I was going to cave and end up with an epidural again! When the nurse announced I was 8cm and moving fast it was then and there that I realized, "Oh my God! I'm actually going to do this natural! There's no time and no turning back!".

I was progressing so fast that Aaron barely made it on time before I started pushing. He stopped in the Maternity Center lobby to ask the receptionist if they actually admitted me and apparently she chuckled and said "Oh yeah...you'd better hurry!". Haha! Even the on-call doctor was running behind. I was so close to having a male doctor (which I am averse to) that I'd never even met deliver my baby. My delivering doctor explained to me that my water was still intact but Jaxson's head was so low in the canal which explained why I felt like I had to push so bad. She offered to break my water so the extra pressure would dilate me so I could push. It worked. 10 minutes after my water was broken (and a half hour after my arrival at the hospital) I started to push at 6pm.

Pushing was the most intense feeling, and since I did not have an epidural, I felt EVERYTHING, especially the burning from the "ring of fire" as he was crowning. It hurt so bad that I didn't want to push thinking that the burning would just go away in between contractions when I wasn't pushing. WRONG! So I knew I just had to push harder and get it over with. I pushed through it as much as I could and after 13 minutes, Jaxson was born! He was immediately placed skin-to-skin on my chest where he proceeded to pee all over me. He has a bit of jaundice (not out of normal range) and he scored a 9 on both of his APGARs.

Recovery has been a breeze...just a very small first degree tear that didn't even require a stitch. I got one for good measure anyway...just in case.

So, the short synopsis: A total of 7 hours of active labor, 6 of which was done at home. Jax was born a mere 45 minutes after our arrival at the hospital and after 13 minutes of pushing...all natural, no meds! I got my NCB!! :)

He's a great little baby... easily startled, but an awesome nurser and a cuddlebug! LOVES to be held. Jayden didn't know what to think of his little brother when he met him for the first time, but I'm sure he will get used to him eventually. We get discharged tonight around 7pm and I can't wait to settle in at home as a family!!

We are now a family of four!! I'm so proud and so in love with both my boys! :)

In labor...Jaxson on the way!

Still contracting after having bloody show this morning. The contractions have been 5 minutes apart for the last 4 hours but are now getting really intense and lasting a minute or more. I still plan to labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, but it looks like Jaxson will be making his appearance either late tonight or sometime tomorrow morning. I still have a bit of bleeding but it might be tapering off. Now I just need my water to break! I'll try to keep this updated as much as I can.

I can't believe I'm going to meet my son soon!!! Wish me luck...I'm going to need it. These contractions HURT!!!

Oh happy day!!

So I had my 39 week OB appointment this morning (only ONE WEEK left until my due date...WOW!) and everything went great. I added some sugar to my Cheerios this morning so Jaxson was hoppin' for all his tests. :) He passed with flying colors. They got all the movements and measurements needed for the non-stress test and biophysical profile. He's a good, happy, and healthy baby!

Then my OB checked my cervix. I told her about all the "symptoms" I'd been having and that it feels like I'm getting closer since I remember the same things with Jayden. I've made progress!!! I'm now a complete 3cm and 80% effaced. Jax is at a -1 station still, so he's almost fully engaged. As my OB puts it, I'm teetering on the edge and all I need is a push...just one thing to send me right over. Best bet I'll be hitting up hubby for some prostaglandin treatments this weekend. :) And some really long walks with Jayden in the stroller. :) She stripped my membranes (which didn't hurt nearly as much as when I had them done with Jayden...in fact I had to ask her if she was going to and she said she already did!) and here I am sitting at work with the normal cramping, but I'm also losing pieces of my mucus plug...YAY!!! I've never been so happy to see bloody, snotty goo. Haha!

I have doctor's appointments on Monday and next Friday (my due date). Doctor said she may see me on Monday but would be surprised if I made it until next Friday. My feeling is that he will be here by next Wednesday so we will see. AH!! I could be a mommy again in under a week!!! I'm so excited to meet my new little man and I cannot wait to see Jayden with his baby brother! :) Melts my heart just thinking about it.

Well, I'm going to take my giddy butt for a walk and get off my birthing ball for a while. I'm so happy I could do cartwheels in the hallway!! Hmmm, maybe THAT will be the thing to push me over the edge... ;)

Early April Fools' Joke?

So... after talking with doctors and nurses galore yesterday about Jayden's "chicken pox", it looks like it may have all been a false alarm. Apparently what I found out is that they couldn't really make a definite decision as to what his diagnosis was... just that the doctor thought chicken pox was "probable" based on three things: he knew he'd had a known exposure, the timing for the incubation period fit, and the symptoms were similar. However, they couldn't be conclusive enough to say he had chicken pox for sure.

Aaron told the doctor at the visit on Monday that he wasn't sure whether or not Jayden had received the vaccine or not (he got it at a year old) and that Jayden was on Amoxicillin at the time for an ear infection. They had us stop the Amoxicillin immediately as well.

I called yesterday because Jayden's marks or "chicken pox" had decreased drastically overnight from the pictures I took two days ago. Even with a mild case of chicken pox, that seems highly unlikely to me that he'd only have the marks for 2 days whether or not he was still considered contagious... so I called to ask some questions. I was receiving conflicting information, bits and pieces, and (to be completely honest) they didn't sound like they really knew exactly what was going on.

Then a while later I received another call from a pediatric nurse there who has 25 years of experience who had been reviewing all the information and wanted to put me at ease. Needless to say that she did. I told her all the background and what I knew from the visit and she told me that all of that doesn't sound like it's chicken pox at all... his symptoms align more with the fact that he has a sensitivity to the Amoxicillin. She asked me how long he'd been on it, how long the rash was there after we took him off the meds, etc. And she said that it all sounds like he had an allergic reaction to the medication and NOT to put him back on it.

So, at this point it looks as if Jayden DID NOT ever have the chicken pox. There is still a very small chance that he did have a very, VERY mild case of the CP, but more than likely what he actually experienced was an allergic reaction that caused him to break out in a hive-like rash all over his body. I also found out that Aaron is allergic to Amoxicillin and I know my dad has a Penicillin allergy, so I'm thinking that maybe it runs in the family?? Amoxicillin allergies are fairly common so it's possible. When I told the nurse he'd been on it before without problems, she told me it didn't matter whether it was the 1st time or 10th time that he'd been exposed as kids can develop allergies to things at any time. They can't do allergy testing on him for this reason either, so now we have to be aware to tell doctors NOT to prescribe Amoxicillin or anything penicillin-based to him.

Furthermore, Aaron and I stripped Jayden down again this morning and I'm happy to say that all of his marks/rash/whatever are gone. There are absolutely no traces that he was ever "sick" with anything. Because of this, he's been given a clean bill of health and is at no further risk to spread anything to anyone...AND he's been cleared to be at the hospital and present for Jaxson's birth. PRAISE GOD! I'm sooo relieved!

There are obviously still some unanswered questions, but nothing that cannot be cleared up with time. They've already made a note in his chart about his reaction to Amoxicillin and they've ordered a test to be administered at his 18 month checkup in June to test his immunity to chicken pox. If it comes back that he's not immune, it will be an indicator that he didn't have it as he would have built up the immunity to it with even a minor exposure. If it does show he's immune, he could have had it but it could also be due to the fact that he's had the first vaccination (he gets the 2nd vaccination around 4-5 years old). So, all in all it looks like good news!

Also, side topic, but it looks like Jaxson is already going to be a "baby model"!! I was approached by a professional photographer out of Redmond (she posted an "ad" on my Babycenter baby forum) looking for Seattle area moms who would be interested in letting her take pictures of their newborn babies under 2 weeks old so she can test out new backgrounds and props. We get a free 2-3 hour session and a couple free prints from it. I checked everything out to make sure it was legit and it is. Her pictures are ADORABLE!!! So, we have a "tentative" appointment for April 18th at 1pm to take Jaxson down to her studio for his complimentary session. She is still looking for more baby models, so if you know of anyone in the Seattle area with a newborn or due to have a baby soon who may be interested in this FREE offer (you do have to pay for any additional prints that you want--- 1 5X7 comes with the offer), please check out her website and blog @ www.babysproutsphoto.com or http://www.carmencphoto.typepad.com/baby_sprouts/

Also, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (39 weeks!!) so we will get to see if I've made any progress. My body feels like it's preparing, so it could be any day now... I'm ready to meet my baby boy!! It's also my last day of work before I go out on maternity leave and I'm sooo excited for a mini "vacation". :) Stay tuned for an update...

Choo choo...all aboard!!

...the Andresen family preggo train that is! It has started again! We just found out that Aaron's sister, Sharon, and her husband are expecting yet another 2009 Andresen baby last night!

Apparently Aaron and I always seem to be the one leading the "train", haha! We got pregnant with Jayden in March 2007 and, within just a few months, 4 more of Aaron's siblings AND his cousin all followed suit. Between December 2007 (when Jayden was born) and July 2008 there were 6 babies born in our family.

Then we got pregnant with Jaxson in July 2008 and so far two more of Aaron's siblings have added to the "train". We are still waiting on Tommy and Samantha being the caboose seeing as I don't believe any of his other siblings will be having any more kids.

I'm not sure of Sharon's due date, but I'm assuming it would be either late November or early December...right around the time I was due with Jayden. Aaron's brother, Chris, and his wife, Magelyn, are expecting baby #4 (another Andresen boy!) in July or August. I'm so excited!!

In other news, Jayden's chicken pox may be getting better already! I'm trying not to be too excited because, for all I know, this could just be something typical with CP but he woke up this morning with considerably less marks on him than last night when I took the pictures. I don't know if they look worse as the day goes on or if they are actually getting better. The doctor said he'd have a milder case of them so hopefully it's a good sign that he's on his way to recovery already. Fingers crossed!

Also...It's officially APRIL!!! Yay! It's Jaxson's birth month! I'm very excited to meet my new son and I have a feeling that labor is closer than I think. I've been having some "warning signs" of labor being close...I remember having the same ones with Jayden within a week of his birth so who knows?? It could be a false alarm, but I just know that my body has felt "strange" the last couple days, so maybe I'm preparing... Still hoping he waits until Monday so I know Jayden's in the clear, but he may not. Hopefully it won't happen over the weekend, though, since my doctor isn't on call. I'd really like her to be the one to deliver. Oh well...we will see!!

Oh, and if you haven't already...feel free to leave a guess on our baby poll as to when Jaxson will be born!! It's free and just for fun. We started it back in the fall when we found out we were having a boy and we already know he's going to be a lot smaller than most of the guesses on there, but that's okay. The link is on the right of my page under "Guess Jaxson's Birth Stats", but I can also post the link here: http://www.expectnet.com/games/jaxsonrobert.


I'll keep you all posted as much as I can.