A "Beau"tiful Birth!

Yes, our boy has arrived! Beau Elias Lehrmann arrived at 12:51 AM on Wednesday, May 27, weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz and measuring 18 3/4 " long. He has beautiful blue gray eyes and has LOTS of sandy blonde hair! Beau means "handsome," which, if you've seen any pictures of him (or even better, gotten to see him in person!), you'll agree with our choosing of the name. (Although I could be partial :) ) Elias means the Lord is my God, which is our prayer for him.

Our day began by having to go to the doctor to check Beau's status Tuesday morning at 11:30. After meeting Brandon there, getting checked in, and finishing our non-stress fetal monitoring test, we were told Dr. Ford had been in a training and that the nurses weren't sure when he would be back, that it could be 30 minutes or even an hour. They wondered if we wanted to wait it out or if we wanted to reschedule for the following day or so. Brandon decided it would be just as easy for us to wait now, since we were already there, and that if it went too far over 30 minutes, that I could just get through the rest of the appointment by myself. Well, Dr. Ford ended up coming in just about 30 minutes later and, after performing a sonogram, stated he was glad we had chosen to stay because we needed to be admitted to the hospital. In the past week, my amniotic fluid levels had diminished to very low levels in each pocket, with one pocket actually being difficult to find any in. While he said we would probably be just fine in continuing the pregnancy, he was more comfortable not taking any chances. He said we had three options, one that we could start inducing; two that we could perform a c-section; and three that we just continue the pregnancy until labor began naturally. When he asked us what we would like, Brandon asked him if this was his wife, what would he choose. After some thought, Dr. Ford rechecked me and said he'd attempt the induction. We checked in and after an hour or so, I was given an insert called Cervadil, which was supposed to ripen my cervix so I could start dilating (at this point, I was still at a zero). Well, an hour or so after that was put in, I started getting uncomfortable and, after the nurse came in and asked how I was feeling, it was confirmed that I had actually begun to have contractions. This was quite a surprise for everyone. That began around 5 and the contractions just continued to get stronger and more frequent as time passed. Something the nurses had noticed, however, was that every time I was coming down from a contraction, that Beau's heartbeat would drop slightly. Around 10:30 that evening, our nurse came in and said that Dr. Ford had suggested we take out the Cervadil and then at 11, start Pitocin. She seemed unsure that our baby would be able to handle the Pitocin, but we went on with removing the Cervadil. For the next hour and a half, I continued to have very intense contractions. During this time, as Brandon later told me (and I'm so glad he waited until after all this was over!), as my contractions would come to an end, Beau's heartbeat would jump to around 200 and then sharply drop to around 80 before regulating itself. This ended up being the tidbit that began everything else. At 12:15, Dr. Ford came in and informed Brandon and me that a vaginal delivery would no longer produce a healthy baby for us and that a C-section was the only viable option we had. Well done deal. No questions asked. I simply said ok, let's go, and I was wheeled into surgery where I was prepped and numbed and within 15 minutes after that, had our baby out. It took them about 30 minutes or so to finish putting me back together and at that point, I was able to finally see my son. Brandon had been with him the entire time since birth (and actually watched how he was born!), and was just the proudest daddy. From that point on, we've been spending as much time as possible with our boy.

We had a lactation specialist visit with us yesterday and she was such a blessing to speak with! She stayed with us for over an hour and helped us both learn the best ways for me to feed Beau (and ways Brandon can help). He ate SO much better yesterday and we know its so largely due to her help and willingness to stay, watch, and give insight into how to best nourish our little guy. We've also been so grateful for all the messages, visits, calls, and prayers that we've received! We were overwhelmed with gratefulness and joy at all the messages we were able to read after getting to check our emails and facebook accounts last night. We've also enjoyed every text, phone call, and visit we've received!! I'm so sorry we had to cut visits short the past couple days, I had developed a fever from the surgery a couple nights ago and we had only gotten around two hours of sleep for the night after that (and are just now getting into how to work on that!). I'm happy to say though that we were able to get about 4 hours of sleep last night and are feeling quite well today! That's not to say that I'm not about to take a nap, as the pain medicine I'm on makes me a little drowsy, and it seems if I don't get a 30 minute or so nap in, I start to get nauseous. So, hopefully, after I get my staples removed, we'll be on our way home today. Beau's already been released from the pediatrician here, so he's just waiting on Mommy to get released so he can go home and see his new crib! :)

Welcome to the world, Beau Elias. We love you so much more than we could have ever realized.

Some of the best things in life come in little packages.

Well, we had our appointment yesterday to see how our little guy's holding up. My doctor started out by measuring my fundal height and, afterwards, said I was measuring a little small. He said that could easily be due to the fact that my muscles were a little stronger with this being our first child, but that he'd feel better looking at him on a sonogram (which we had scheduled to get anyway). So we waited in one room while they got the next room ready and were finally shuffled across the hall. There, we got to see our little boy. It was SO nice to see him again since the last time had been at 20 weeks! We saw a very strong heartbeat and were COMPLETELY assured that indeed we are having a boy. :) After though, our doctor measured how much he felt our boy was weighing and his growth. He started to talk to me about how some women can carry larger children and others it seems are designed to carry smaller ones. It appears I'm the latter. At first he said our boy was only measuring at 5 to 5 1/2 lbs and then after taking all his measurements, came back with 5 lbs 15 oz. While he said that's just fine, it can still waver up to a pound either way and we'd prefer it to not lean the pound on the lighter side. He then wanted to have a non-stress fetal monitor put on him for 20 minutes, just to make sure he's doing ok. So off to another room. At first I was set up on my back, but after 10 minutes or so of him not really moving and having a slower heartbeat, they turned me on my side. That must've awoken him because his heartbeat sure got faster and he kicked that monitor a few times in a row! We were reassured after 20 minutes that he seems to be doing well. After, Dr. Ford told us that since I have yet to dilate, we'll schedule to come back in next Tuesday (our original due date) for another sonogram and non-stress test. If he sees that our little one hasn't put on much weight (which doesn't seem very likely), then we'll induce the end of next week. He said it may simply be that our little boy has gotten everything he's going to get from inside me and is ready to be out. We're not sure, but we'll see how he's doing on Tuesday. For right now, we simply have to check his movement throughout the day and let them know if he goes for an extended period without movement. I know God's completely in control of this and is watching over our sweet little guy, but I found myself upset at first that I might've done something wrong. I know this is only Satan playing mind games with me, but it was SO hard to not feel like a bad mother and not worry that I should've/could've done something different. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who continually keeps reassuring me that sometimes the best things in life come in small packages. :) Sounds like he's pretty much on target with our bundle. So right now we just pray Bundle keeps growing, but if not, that we have a safe delivery next week. We'll update again with news as soon as we know, but for now, it looks like Bundle (and Bundle's name!) will be revealed on the 28th or 29th!

Doctor Visits and Showers

That pretty much sums up what's been going on with me for the last couple weeks. A week and a half ago, a group of super sweet ladies threw Bundle and me a shower (Bundle much more than me...I just got to open up all the fun stuff!). It was so beautiful! Once we get our computer back in working condition, I'll be sure to post some pictures from it. Needless to say, Bundle was quite blessed by SO many people and we are now ready more than ever for him to arrive! We had wonderful gifts ranging from adorable little onesies, to a special Batman costume, cute little socks that look like sneakers, special cards, I really could go on and on... When Brandon and I were finally sitting in our living room, just looking around at all the special items people had purchased for our little one, we couldn't help but comment on how good God is. It just amazes us that there are so many people that are looking forward to getting to meet this little guy; that there are so many people praying for his safe arrival.

The following Wednesday I went to see our doctor and had our first major "check" to see how Bundle's progressing. Well...we're starting to thin out, but we're pretty sure Bundle's needing some more baking time, which was fine by us, while we're excited to have him here, we want him to take all the time he needs to get ready and be in the best shape possible! While I was there, I also asked Dr. Ford about getting sick, since at that point Brandon had been sick for about a week and a half. He assured me I was doing really well, to just rest and if anything should start, to let him know. Mind you, I had made it all the way to that visit not being sick at all through my pregnancy (that includes morning sickness as well!), so I was feeling really good about getting to the finish line minus any sickness. And then Thursday came. While putting some last finishing touches on Bundle's room, I noticed I had started to have some female problems that were getting worse by the hour. So after calling Dr. Ford's office, they had me come in and proceeded to give me antibiotics and over the counter medicine to take for a week. I started the regimen Thursday night feeling pretty optimistic. Friday I was still feeling very uncomfortable with my first infection, and was noticing I was getting another infection. I must've caught what Brandon had! I couldn't believe the irony; I was just telling Brandon how amazing it was to have made it this far without being sick at all. Next time I'll remember to keep quiet about that. :) As of yesterday, my first infection was still not going away, so I called back my doctor and they told me to come in this morning at ten. There I was checked and told to refill my antibiotic and start a shorter regimen, this only being the next four days. I'm praying this will resolve itself! In reference to my second infection (Or whatnot), I ended up self-doctoring myself through last night, when I woke up coughing and hacking up phlegm like crazy! (Gross I know, but this is what cued me to not self-doctor anymore from here on out) I mentioned that as well this morning after my doctor asked me if I felt ok. I'm now on a couple other OTC meds and am fervently praying to be 100% by the end of the weekend!

I was able to get out of my doctor's appointment today just in time to go to my noon budget meeting at work. I've been trying hard to make sure everything's in order for when I go on maternity, so that when I get back, it's smooth sailing on into the start of school! I was about 5 minutes late walking in and, after being told Janet (my boss) was in the back of the building that we usually don't meet in, was met by a surprise baby shower! My face must've conveyed everything I was thinking, because every single lady laughed and commented on how surprised I looked! There was tons of food, a precious baby cake, games, and gifts! I was honestly so overwhelmed by people's sweet thoughts that I was tearing up on my way home from work today. God is so good to us to have placed so many amazing people in my and Brandon's lives. The back of my car is now refilled with gifts that Brandon and I will get to go through again once he gets home from work, yay!

So now we're pretty much at the point of just waiting. I want this little guy to take the time he needs to get strong and ready to face the outside world, so I'm preparing for the distinct possibility that we will probably go past our due date. Brandon and I have been talking the last few nights over all the changes we've been through in our relationship and how becoming a parent is just one more blessing and challenge that we're so excited to meet head-on together. I truly don't think I would be as excited about all the little things I am if I didn't have Brandon to share them with. God has truly shown me unconditional love through him. Sometimes we laugh at how good it is we got married to each other, because no one else quite gets us the way we get each other and I realize how true that is. I'm more comfortable, at ease, and myself with him than with any other person. And how amazing we get to meet a little bundle that's part him and part me. :)

Well, I guess I better go start on some thank you's; I had finished my last one yesterday from church, so it's off to the work ones!