Jeremiah Paul Laufer is here!!!

Wow, what an amazing last few days! Where to begin?

Ah yes. On Friday Paul kept telling me that he thought that I was going to go into labor that evening. All I could think was, "No way!" However, he was right! As we were getting ready to go to bed I noticed what seemed to be a dribble of amniotic fluid. It certainly was not the normal "gush", but they tell you to come in if you even think you might be leaking. So we called the doctor's office and explained what we were seeing and they told us to come in. We then packed up and went to the doctors office. However, we were so doubtful that this was really "it" that we didn't even pack everything on our list.

We arrived at the hospital shortly after 1:00am and they took us to a delivery room. The nurse tested me for amniotic fluid and didn't find any. However, the doctor wasn't convinced. She ordered another pH test and a separate test that is more accurate. The second pH test resulted positive in amniotic fluid and the other test result was "positive, but barely positive". It appears that there was a small tear in the sack. That's enough for infection to enter and pose a risk to the baby so the doctor informed us that it would be best for us to induce labor.

About an hour later they had me hooked up to the fetal heartbeat monitor, contraction monitor, and an IV line that they would use for the Pitocin. At this point I still couldn't believe what was happening. We were so excited! Our son was about to be born!

In the morning my mother Linda arrived. She was so excited and was very helpful. Any time we needed anything she was on top of it. Just having her there helped relieve the tension and helped me to relax.

However, after hours of being on Pitocin and being at 5cm dilated, progress stalled. By 5pm the following afternoon they decided to take me off the Pitocin and let my body try to "reset". The problem was that my contractions were irregular, preventing them from becoming strong enough to progress further. The irregularity we were told was most likely caused by Jeremiah's position. The nurses determined that he was in the "posterior position", which is head down but faced so that the back of his head is against my spine (aka back labor). My mother had back labor with her son and didn't "recommend it".

During the two hour rest they tried to get me into different positions to help him turn over into the normal position, which is head down and face against my spine. But it didn't help and they put me back on Pitocin to see what would happen.

This time my contractions started out more regular, but soon returned to the irregular state. The doctor came in and checked me. She determined that the tear in my sack must have been high up and that because his head was so low it was pinching off the flow of amniotic fluid. She recommended that we puncture the sack down low to aid in draining of any remaining fluid. Thats when everything changed.

Apparently there was still enough fluid in the sack to cushion the effects of back labor because as soon as the sack was broken every contraction felt 100 times more painful. I felt most of the pain in the small of my back. I wanted to climb out of my skin! I started to panic! I realized that between the Pitocin, back labor, and sudden onset of pain I just couldn't handle it with breathing techniques. We decided that the best thing was to go for an epidural.

The epidural insertion took about 30 minutes. During this time I had to stay extremely still, which was made ridiculously difficult by the suddenly very strong and extremely painful contractions. Our nurse Cathy was awesome and without her aide I fear I wouldn't have been able to pull myself together enough to stay still for the epidural. I can't say enough good things about her. She was by far the best nurse we had in our three days at the hospital.

After receiving the epidural I was able to relax and concentrate on the contractions again. It wasn't more than 5 minutes after lying back down that I felt immense pressure. My mom got the nurse, she checked, and I was 100% effaced and 10cm, ready to push! Furthermore, it seemed that Jeremiah had found it in his heart to turn over into the normal head down position just in time to deliver.

Another 30 minutes and several sets of pushes later, our son Jeremiah Paul Laufer was born on July 13, 2008 at 2:07am. Paul cut the umbilical cord, and they put him in my arms. Shortly after, they took him to be measured and weighed. He measured 19.25 inches long, and weighed 7 lbs 4.6oz. They cleaned him up and handed him to Paul, who held him for a minute, saw the look in my eyes, and immediately handed him back to me.

We are all home now, healthy and recovering. It's been difficult having a new baby and adjusting to our new life, but it has been made a lot easier having mom here. I'll be so sad when its time for her to go!

That's all for now!

Separation of membranes

38 Weeks & 2 Days

Today was another weekly visit to the OB. I was really excited to see if I had made any further progress from my last visit. I am now 90% effaced and 2.5-3 cm dilated. the doctor saw how bummed I was and said that she could separate my membranes if I wanted her to. This can help release some hormone that has been known to induce labor. So I went ahead and had her do it. She told me that I could go into labor within the next couple of days. Time will tell...

Not a lot of progress!

37 Weeks & 4 Days

Well today was not that much more progress from last week. I am now 80% effaced and still 2 cm dilated. I was really hoping for more progress than this, but something is better then nothing. I am so ready to meet my son. I have enjoyed being pregnant but I am really looking forward to holding my son in my arms and looking him the eyes. I'll keep you all updated as to my progress.

Starting to dilate!

36 Weeks & 2 Days

Today was our second weekly doctor visit. We will be going once a week until the baby is born. The doctor checked to see if I had started dilating. We never thought that I would be effaced or dilated at all. The doctor told us that I was already 70% effaced and 1 cm dilated. Can you believe this? I really do not think that I will be going into labor any time soon but at least I am headed in the right direction. The doctor also told me that if I do start to go into labor she will not stop it. She said the baby is far enough along that he would do fine outside the womb. This is so exciting!! We have completed our birthing classes and now we are ready to take on parenting. (HA HA yeah right).

Colorado here we come!!

32 weeks & 4 Days

Today we closed escrow on our new house in Colorado and tomorrow we are moving in! We are looking forward to this new chapter and adventure in our lives. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us here. We have already met some of our neighbors and they seem so wonderful. Of course we will miss all of our friends and family back in Cali. Paul and I will be starting our lamaze classes June 1, Paul will be starting his new job at Lockheed on June 2, and I will be meeting my new OB Doctor June 3. We ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we enter into this next season of our lives.

We miss you all already!!

All our love,

Doctor's Appointment

17 weeks 2 days

Today Paul and I went to visit Dr. Mazdisnian (maz-disney-an) for our regular monthly visit. Today we had several items on the agenda: Listen to the baby's heart, review the results from yesterday's ultrasound, discuss the AFP pre-screen genetic defect blood test, and answer any miscellaneous questions.

The first thing we did was listen to baby's heart beat using an instrument he called the "Doppler". The baby's heart sounded strong and fast, which is good since it should be in the 120-160 beats per minute range. Our baby has consistently been at around 150 beats per minute. We also heard some interesting wooshing sounds something like when you bump the needle on a record player. The Dr. explained that these sounds are caused by the baby moving and that we have a very active baby. Exciting!

The next item on the agenda was to discuss the AFP genetic defect pre-screening test. This blood test is to determine if our baby is at a higher risk of certain types of genetic defects. While Paul and I would never terminate the pregnancy because of an abnormality, we do want to know if there is anything wrong that we can be praying and preparing for before baby is born. If we don't here from them in a week then that's good news. If we do hear from them in a week, there is a possibility of bad news, but it will take more tests to determine. So we're hoping for that phone to stay quiet :)

Next was the review of the previous day's ultrasound. Dr. Mazdisnian explained that the baby looked perfectly normal, healthy, and a little bit big for his gestational age. He also noted that the placenta is implanted towards Liz's back and that since she is on the taller and thinner side that she wont be showing as much. Basically, she has plenty of room in her chest and stomach cavity for her organs to go instead of having to get pushed out. In short, reviewing the ultrasound scans confirmed that the baby is normal and developing perfectly.

After reviewing the ultrasound we had a Q&A session. He asked me if I was feeling the baby move and I explained that I wasn't sure. I explained that I had felt some slight pulsing in my lower abdomen but didn't know if it was the baby or ... something else. He informed me that it was the baby and that I should be feeling it more frequently and stronger in the days to come. Woohoo!!! It's about time :)

After our time with the Dr. was finished we went to the lab to have the AFP blood test. Afterwards Paul and I attempted to go do our usual thing and have In'n'Out, but it was roped off and closed! We noticed that there was a man climbing the power pole so we can only assume that they lost power and couldn't open for the day. So we ate at another In'n'Out on the way home. So there!

This evening, after Paul returned from work, he was feeling my tummy hoping to feel the baby kick. First he would feel something, then I would, and finally, we both felt something at the same time! It was so cool!

Keep in touch :)

Ultrasound Appointment!

17 weeks 1 day

Today I went for my ultrasound to see if the baby is developing normally. The technician took me in by myself and did the whole exam while Paul was left waiting outside in the waiting room. I didn't even get a good view of what it was she was looking at because she had the screen turned so that I couldn't see anything. When she was finished with her exam, she then called Paul in to see the baby, and we both got to see the baby at the same time :)

The whole time the technician was looking at him and trying to take pictures of him he was moving all around making it difficult for her to take any pictures. Our baby boy is very active. He was stretching, kicking, sucking his thumb, swallowing, he was head down, then head up, then sitting straight up. He just would not sit still!

Furthermore, it was reconfirmed that we are having a boy!!!