Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Adventures Continue: Oliver's birth story


With the adventures of the last few weeks of pregnancy, of course the birth had to be an adventure as well...

After almost 3 weeks of trying everything to induce labor naturally, the last thing I tried was acupuncture.

On Tuesday, July 9, I :
  • had a breakfast of greek yogurt with strawberries, 
  • turned in my 24-hr urine test, 
  • got a second breakfast of an egg sandwich at Panera, 
  • went to my 2nd acupuncture appointment, 
  • went to my chiropractic appointment at Revolution, 
  • had a snack of an orange and some granola, 
  • went to hang out at Evan’s office while the house cooled back down,
  • got home around 4, 
  • took my homeopathics, 
  • rubbed clary sage on my belly, 
  • got the breastpump going, and 
  • laid down, drifting in and out of sleep.
All of a sudden, I feel a pop that jarred me out of the semi-sleep I was in. I thought maybe that was water breaking, but no one ever mentioned feeling a pop! I sent Evan a message to tell him what I felt, and thankfully he was pulling into the neighborhood already (5:30pm). I waited for him to come help me off the couch, just in case my “water” gushed, but it was a just a trickle instead. I sent Susan a message just before 6pm letting her know what was going on. She called back to get some more info and remind me of when we were required to call her to come, but she would come earlier if I wanted her to. Contractions started during that phone call, but I could still breathe and talk to Susan through them.

I told Evan what Susan said and told him the plan for dinner—baked chicken. I told him I was going to the bathroom then I’d come back to help him…but I never came back. Meanwhile, I’m in the kitchen messing with raw chicken, getting it ready to be baked for dinner. Contractions really started coming on strong, and I had no problem starting to ‘vocalize’ through them. In addition to the contractions, I had tension in my lower back and belly that wasn’t subsiding between contractions. I tried to get up and go help Evan, but I made it as far as our entry way before I had to stop to lean on the wall and decided to go back to the bathroom. I went ahead and ran a warm bath and got in, but I couldn’t get comfortable. After about 25 minutes, I wonder, “where is my wife?” so I went to check on her. I was thinking “I don’t know if I can do this…but it hasn’t been that long since my water broke…this can’t possibly be transition already…what if gets worse…mind over matter…I can do this!”

Little side note here: I spent 24 hours in Bradley class, with my wife, training for this moment. We kept reading over this little chart that described the 5 stages of labor – Early First Stage, First State, Late First Stage, Transition, and Second Stage (or Pushing). There were different columns describing the Emotional, Physical, and Behavioral signposts associated with each stage. I was supposed to use that information to tell what stage Laura was currently in. The Emotional signpost for Transition is that the woman will be saying things like “I can’t do this anymore” and “It’s too hard”. I kept listening for her to express this level of doubt, but my brave wife kept these little feelings of doubt to herself. Unfortunately, this was one instance where I really needed her to mention her doubts out loud, so that I would know that she was already in Transition.  As it was, I didn’t figure that she had already reached Transition because it hadn’t been that long since her water broke and she wasn’t verbalizing her doubts.

Evan came to check on me while I was in the bath, and I told him I wanted him to call Susan. He suggested getting out and trying a few different positions first so he could time contractions (because, again, I just couldn’t believe that she might already be in Transition). I could tell when the contractions were coming on and peaking, but not necessarily when they ended because of the continuous tension in my belly and back. Evan did a great job encouraging me and rubbing my back through contractions. Again, I told Evan I wanted him to call Susan to at least bring the birth pool. So, he called (at 7:30 pm) and Susan and her assistant came over. By the time they got to our house, I was already in the zone and only vaguely aware of them arriving.

They set up the birth pool, which was a fiasco in and of itself… Erm, you see, we never really tested the faucet adapter for the birth pool hose to make sure that it would fit on one of our faucets. I guess I just sort of assumed that it would fit. Then soon after Susan and Elizabeth began setting up the pool, Susan came in to tell me that she couldn’t get the adapter to fit any of the faucets. I immediately started to panic. Hooking up the hose and filling up the birth pool was supposed to be my job. I had agreed to take care of that when we spoke to Susan weeks before and requested a birth pool. But in the craziness of the last 3.5 weeks leading up to the birth, I totally forgot about it. Then Elizabeth mentioned that it would probably be possible to hook the hose up directly to the hot water fill valve behind the washing machine. Eureka! I was elated. Of course, the elation quickly turned to despair as I realized that I didn’t have the proper tools to detach the washing machine’s existing fill lines to get at the valve. I needed channel locks and I didn’t have any. Once again, panic sets in. I tried concocting a solution with needle-nose pliers and a crescent wrench, but that wasn’t making any progress.

After a few minutes (it’s now almost 8:30 pm), I began to accept the fact that I needed to call someone for help. My mind started racing through my options. I called my friend Nathan, who lives just a couple miles away, but he didn’t answer. Then I remembered that my coworker Rob had just moved and now lived only a couple blocks away, so I rang him up and he answered. The conversation went something like this: “Hey Rob, it’s Evan. Are you home? I have a weird question. I really badly need the sort of wrench (couldn’t even remember the name in the moment) that can detach the fill lines from the water valves behind the washing machine. Laura’s going into labor and I need to fill up the birth pool.” He said that he had them and that he’d have them ready when I came by. “Yeah, that’s the thing – I can’t really leave her right now. Is there any way you could bring them over?” Fortunately, Rob is amazing and said that he’d bring them over immediately. So I hung up, went back to check on Laura, and admitted that I had to call someone to bring the channel locks. Of course, she was in the zone and probably wasn’t even aware of what I said. Nope!

A few minutes later, Rob arrived and dropped off the channel locks. I thanked him profusely and rushed to work on the water valves. I detached the fill line from the red valve and hooked up the birth pool hose. Success! I told Elizabeth that the hose was connected and then ran back into the room to help Laura again. But just a minute later, Elizabeth came into the back room and told me there was a problem. The water coming out of the hose was cold. “How can that be? I hooked up the hose to the red valve.” Then I took a better look behind the washing machine, pushed the drain line out of the way, and realized that BOTH valves were red. Just my luck. So I detached the hose and switched it over to the other fill valve and turned it on. Mercifully, the water coming from the hose was hot. I informed Elizabeth and once again headed back to assist Laura as Elizabeth filled up the birth pool, mixing hot water from the hose with cold water poured in using buckets from the sink.

When I was finally able to get in the birth pool, every muscle relaxed for the first time since my water broke and I was able to breathe deep and recharge for about 2 minutes before contractions started coming again. It was a good thing I had those couple of minutes of relaxation because my vocalizations during contractions quickly turned into pushing sounds. Susan and Elizabeth were taking my and baby’s vitals while I was in the birth pool, and a point came when they said they were having trouble hearing baby’s heartbeat, so it was time to get out of the pool and go push my baby out.
Evan helped me onto the bed, and I started out pushing on my hands and knees. After a few pushes, with one of the midwives checking baby’s heartbeat after almost every contraction, Susan told me to hold my baby there and push him farther. Then they had me get into a squat, but our bed is so squishy that I just sank into the bed. They had me kneeling on the bed behind her, supporting her in the squat position, and my knees were killing me! Then we moved to the floor in a squat position for a few pushes, with the midwives still checking baby’s heartbeat after almost every contraction/push. For this, they asked me to sit in my computer chair and lay my arms out along my knees, so that Laura could place her underarm over my arms and hang down in the squat position. My forearms quickly went completely numb, but I kept telling myself that this was inconsequential compared to the pain Laura was experiencing. Then they had me lay on my back pulling my knees up to help baby get over my tailbone. Susan gradually got more and more firm with me saying “Even more…push even more…it’s time to push your baby out…even more.” I could sense the seriousness of her tone and was pushing as hard and long as I could only stopping to gasp for more breath before pushing again. Finally, his head came out! There was a loop of cord around his neck, but it had a good pulse. After a few more pushes, his shoulders came out (with the aid of Susan), and then the rest of this body!

The midwives laid him on my chest, and it took just a minute for his cry to grow to the full-bodied cry. Susan had me cough and push, and my placenta came out pretty quickly. However, even after the placenta came out, I kept bleeding. Susan and Elizabeth took turns rubbing my belly doing the ‘fundal massage’ and they gave me a shot of Pitocin, but I still kept bleeding. They cleared clots from my uterus a few times, continued the fundal massage, and gave me another shot of Pitocin (the maximum amount they could give me at home) but I still kept bleeding. So, they decided it was best for me to go into the hospital to find out exactly where the bleeding was coming from. They knew I had some tears, but they wanted to be sure there wasn’t bleeding coming from somewhere else.

After some discussion and a call to Dr. Lewis, an ambulance was called to our house. I had to get up from the floor where I was supporting Laura and start getting ready to go to the hospital. I started throwing on clean clothes, and then ran into the kitchen to grab some more bites of chicken and get some orange juice for Laura. Then Susan came into the kitchen and informed me that because she needed to ride in the ambulance with Laura, that I was going to have to drive myself there and bring Oliver in the car seat. My heart leapt into my throat for a second, as I tried to reconcile the necessity of the situation with the reality that I couldn’t stay with my wife in the ambulance. I calmed myself with the knowledge that we trusted Susan and she wouldn’t have made this decision unless it was absolutely necessary. Then I went back to the baby room to grab some supplies, because now I have to diaper and clothe my one hour old son. Since all I had on was a nursing sleeping bra, Elizabeth draped Evan’s Thunder shirt over me. The EMT’s came in, started an IV, hooked me up to the blood pressure cuff, then wrapped me up in the MegaMover, which was kinda like a cocoon in which they carried me to the stretcher, then wheeled the stretcher over the yard to the ambulance. Susan rode in the ambulance with me to continue pressure/massage on my belly, which meant Evan had to bring Oliver James to me at the hospital.

So while I was picking out a onesie to put on Oliver, I managed to select one of those wrap-around ones with all the snaps.  Supposedly, these are easier to get on babies than the traditional onesie that you pull on over their head. LIES. Elizabeth and I must have snapped and unsnapped that thing on him 3 times, and each time we ended up with leftover snaps that didn’t have a match. Anyway, we got the onesie on him (sort of) and then I grabbed the baby bag and Laura’s wallet and made my way to the garage to put him in her car so I could drive to the hospital.  Unfortunately, once I opened the garage, I saw that Susan’s car was parked behind Laura’s and Susan’s keys were still with her in the ambulance, so there was no way to move it.  This meant that I was going to try to fit his car seat into my little car.

I moved the car seat over to my back seat, but I was having the hardest time getting the latches hooked to the safety bars, because they were buried way down in the seat. Of course, I soon realized that the reason I was having so much trouble was because I still had the carrier attached to the base. Once I removed the carrier, I was able to get it attached. So I pulled the carrier out and placed Ollie inside, when I quickly discovered that even at 1 hour old he was already too big for the default strap setting. I had to lift him back out, hand him to Elizabeth, and adjust the straps. I placed him back in and the straps fit, but his head stabilizer had pulled away and there was no way to get it back in place without lifting him out of the seat again. Once more I adjusted the carrier and then placed him in and fortunately, the third time was the charm. Amazingly, this entire time he was just squeaking and squawking but never crying. I hopped in the car and slowly made my way to the hospital, while quickly phoning both new Grandmas to tell them the good news and the scary news.

When we got to the ER, the EMT’s asked how to get to Labor & Delivery Triage, where Dr. Lewis was meeting us, and I heard a familiar voice say he would show us the way—it was Ryan Schroeder. It was nice to see a familiar face and he lightened the mood a bit as he led us up 2 elevators and through many halls. I asked him to watch for Evan and to help him find me.

On my way, I received a text from Ryan Schroeder telling me that he knew Laura’s room number and that I could ask for him at the hospital. When I arrived at Mercy with Oliver, I started to panic because I’d never been to the ER, so I had no idea which entrance to use. I decided to pull into the Patient’s Entrance thinking that they could direct me to the right place. So I parked the car, carefully lifted Ollie out in his carrier and walked across the lot to the Patient’s entrance, where I was greeted by a locked door. I had chosen poorly. I walked back across the parking lot, muttering to Ollie about his clueless daddy, and put him back in the car. I decided to just call Ryan and ask him where to go. Thankfully, he answered his cell phone and directed me to the ER entrance.

I found a parking spot right up front and soon I was inside at the desk waiting for Ryan to come get me. One of the nurses caught a glimpse of Ollie in his carrier and asked me how old he was. When I told her “about 2 hours” she gave me a look like “What are you doing leaving this hospital with a 2 hour old baby?!?” Desperately wanting to avoid a Pink Alert, I quickly explained that he was born at home and that my wife needed to be taken to the hospital afterwards so we were coming to see her. Ryan came out soon after and escorted me up to Laura’s room.

We got to the room, and Dr. Lewis came in soon after. She cleared clots, as Susan held my hand, and determined the bleeding was coming from 2 tears in the vaginal wall and 1 perineal tear, so she stitched me up. As she was doing so, the nurses asked about Oliver and how big he was, but we didn’t know because Susan and Elizabeth had been working on me since he was born. Evan soon got to the room with Oliver, and I took him as soon as I could, took off his onesie, and held him on my chest, covered by Evan’s Thunder shirt (his first ‘blanket’). He nursed, which was a great distraction from everything else going on. Susan and the nurses even commented on how good he was at breastfeeding already.
When Dr. Lewis finished stitching me up, she said I just had to finish the bag of IV fluids/Pitocin, and then I would be free to go. Then, one of the nurses brought in a scale, a clean hat, and some blankets. Susan and Elizabeth were able to weigh him and do their checks of him there in the hospital room. Oliver weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz, 21 inches long, and 24.5 cm head! My big boy! After doing Oliver’s measurements, they went back to our house to start cleaning up. We were at the hospital for a little longer, when Evan called the new grandparents to give them the news of Oliver’s name and stats, and that we were both doing good.

We left the hospital around 2:30am, and both Evan and I were starving, but of course, nothing was open…nothing at the hospital…nothing on our way home. Thankfully, we had some leftover grilled sweet potatoes in the fridge that sounded heavenly to me. Evan heated that up for me as I slowly made my way in the house and into bed. Susan checked on Oliver again and gave him a Vitamin K shot for some bruising, then they both headed home around 3:30am. After a few bites of sweet potato and some orange juice, I fed Oliver again and went to sleep. However, Oliver wasn’t quite ready to sleep yet, so Evan took him, soothed him, and finally got in bed around 4:30am. The adventure of Oliver’s birth-day was complete, but it’s just the beginning of our adventure as a new little family.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 40

We made it to 40 weeks! 2 1/2 weeks ago, I wasn't sure if this would be possible. I'm so thankful for all the blessings of the past few weeks. Now, onto the news.

My due date of July 4th came and went with very little action, and we were ok with that. We didn't particularly want our baby boy to be a "firecracker baby," as some have said.

Friday, July 5th

I had a prenatal appointment. My blood work from Monday had come back clear, but the urine test results had been delayed. I found them out at my appointment...I had crossed that line of 300mg of proteinuria to 334mg. After a discussion between Susan and Dr. Lewis, they decided to let me go, hoping baby would come over the weekend, since my blood pressure readings had stabilized. If baby boy doesn't come over the weekend, I have to do another 24-hr urine test; if those results show a continued increase in proteinuria, then there will be talk of hospital induction again. But, baby boy is still moving and heart rate sounds good! I was dilated to a 3, 70% effaced, and -1 station.

Once again I left with a sense of urgency for baby boy to come soon for health reasons, but still so much of it was out of my control.

We discussed with Susan all the ways to naturally induce labor. In case you don't know:
  • walking
  • nipple stimulation/breast pump
  • sex
  • stripping membranes
  • watch sappy romantic comedies (anything that boosts oxytocin)
  • rub Clary Sage essential oil on the belly
  • drink Raspberry Leaf Tea
  • Cimicifuga Racemosa (homeopathic)
  • Caulophyllum Thalictroides (homeopathic)
  • acupuncture
So over the weekend, I tried everything, except the acupuncture because offices were closed.

Saturday, July 6th

Evan slept in, then we went out to Katie's Country Griddle for good big breakfast, in case baby boy decided to come that day. I spent the day doing what I could to encourage labor, and made some progress. I had contractions and they got to 5 minutes apart and about 2 minutes long, but they weren't very intense. We called Susan to update her and for reassurance then went for a late night walk, when it was a little cooler. We stayed up until the contractions started to subside, then went to sleep.

Sunday, July 7th

We stayed home so Evan could sleep in (I've been getting up just about every hour and once it hits 7-8am, I'm up), in case labor started, and to avoid all the questions about still being pregnant. I ate a good breakfast of scrambled eggs made by my awesome hubby, then I spent another day doing everything I could to encourage labor, and thankfully we got out of the house to go for a walk around Target. I decided to call Susan to come over and check my progress and strip membranes again. When she came over, my bp was good, I was dilated to a 4, stretchy to a 6, 80-90% effaced, 0 station, and anterior cervical position, so definitely progress. Susan said she was impressed to see progress like this from a first-time mom, especially without being in active labor. After she left, we went on another late night walk and contractions got more intense than the night before. They lasted through the night, though I was able to sleep, and subsided early in the morning.

Monday, July 8th

Today I'm in the midst of yet another 24-hr urine test. I ate another good breakfast of scrambled eggs, made in my new Green Pan. I'm really starting to get tired of eggs!! I spent another day at home doing everything I could to encourage labor, and Susan made an acupuncture appointment for me tonight. It was my first time for acupuncture. Some of the needle inserts hurt a little, and the room was warm, and after about half an hour in the same position, my back and bum were hurting. However, I felt baby boy moving a lot and had a couple contractions (also uncomfortable since I felt like I couldn't move at all during them).


Afterwards, Evan and I picked up some dinner, visited with some friends, then headed back home. Let me tell you how fun it is to lug a cooler with a pee bucket around while out and about...not!! But I did it, and now we're back home, once again waiting to see if tonight is the night we'll get to meet our baby boy.

Still loading...

Monday, July 8

Over the course of the past week, I (or we) have finished all of the little things left on our TO DO BEFORE BABY COMES list:
  • Decorated, organized, cleaned the baby room
  • Swept/vacuumed all the floors
  • Put away random stuff
  • Readied the front guest bedroom
  • Washed all the dishes (except for the ones we use each day, of course)
  • I even finished my Gilmore Girls seasons
I'm running out of things to do to occupy/distract me from the waiting.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 39

Thank goodness things have slowed way down this week!! My blood pressure readings stabilized over the weekend, which means I don't stress about taking my blood pressure quite as much...which probably results in even better readings! I've even been released to exercise and do more activity than laying on the couch!! Good thing because my left hip and shoulder are getting pretty sore!

I got to have the garage sale I've been stockpiling for since winter-time on Friday and Saturday. I only opened it for the mornings of each day, and the weather was actually very nice. It even drizzled a bit Saturday morning. Everything I had out, I just wanted gone, so a lot of things were just a quarter or just a dollar. I had a few larger items, and even those I priced way low and sold most of it. Anything that didn't sell went to Goodwill Sunday afternoon, except for clothes which will go to the church's Pants & Pancakes ministry. It's good to have the space in the garage finally cleared out...maybe the garage will get organized now. We'll see...

I have been eating as much protein (eggs) as I can stand trying to improve my lab results from last week. My goal is 80-100 grams of protein a day! I think I've met that goal each day, and even exceeded it on Saturday, when I absolutely stuffed myself with protein!

I had a prenatal Sun. June 30th. Everything went well, and she stripped membranes again (4th time...) I'm dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. So, progress is being made! I just finished another 24-hour urine test Tuesday morning. If this test and the blood work are clear/much better, I'll be cleared from appointments with the OB and back to Susan as my primary caregiver (with Dr. Lewis still being backup, of course)!

I had quite a few contractions Monday afternoon/evening. These were stronger than ones I've had previously, but they never came at regular intervals. They lasted most of the evening, then went away when I went to bed. Alas, another day!

It's crazy to think that my due date is this coming Thursday, yet we've been so eager for Baby Boy to come, for health reasons, for 2 weeks now!! In retrospect, I'm seeing how it has been best that he has stayed put:
1. Susan had a cold last weekend, and that would not have been ideal, whether we ended up at the hospital or at home.
2. We made progress with decorating the nursery (pics coming soon).
3. We had a garage sale.
4. Laundry, dishes, and some cleaning done.
5. A lot of episodes of Castle watched. We started the series at the beginning of June, so in a month we've watched seasons 1-3, and half of 4!!
(there's probably more that I've thought of, but can't remember right now)

I just wish Baby Boy would have come before Lindi, Evan's youngest cousin who's working on midwifery certification and who has become a dear friend/family member, and her family left for Guatemala. They left on Monday for a couple of months, but I know they'll be doing great work there!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 38

The adventure continues...
(I know I include a lot of details, but this is to get it all off my mind and still remember this adventure someday in the future.)

Saturday, June 22nd

After breakfast, Evan and I went on a short walk around the neighborhood. Then, we headed to Lowes...well actually Evan dropped me off to get a pedicure while he got what he needed at Lowes. Then we headed home, ate lunch, and I rested until Susan came over. She checked on Baby Boy, checked on protein level in my urine (all was good), then she stripped my membranes. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it only felt a little more uncomfortable/intense than when Baby Boy was putting pressure on my cervix. Then, Susan checked my bp: 142/78...low number really good, high number a little high.

A few hours later, as Evan was getting dinner ready, I started to feel kind of crampy. I went ahead and ate, but my lower back was starting to ache also. I decided I wanted some froyo...some peach froyo that I had had a few weeks before, so we went to Berri-Licious. But alas, no peach froyo, only raspberry peach. So, I got some peach-raspberry and some tart, topped with fruit and nuts. When we got back home, I decided I wanted to take my bp sitting outside instead of inside. I think I was starting to get a little cabin fever/stir crazy, and being outside with the breeze and sounds of nature (including cars going by) drowned out the sound of the bp machine, and just made me feel a little better.

After that, the crampy feelings seemed more like real contractions. I started to ask Evan about timing them, but I had a hard time really knowing when they ended even though they seemed to start about every ten minutes. I was on the birth/yoga ball, first sitting, then leaning my upper body on it and rocking, all the while enjoying the distraction of Castle and getting a little excited that this may be it! A little later, Evan, being the awesome Bradley birth coach he's learned to be, said we needed to go to bed, whether the contractions were real or not. If they were real, it would be good to have the rest, if they weren't real, they'd stop when I went to sleep. So, I reluctantly went to bed, thinking I don't know if I can sleep...but I did, and the contractions subsided.

Sunday, June 23rd

We went to church then had lunch with mom, who had been helping with Moore/Shawnee tornado relief with Western Heights, before she headed home. My lower back was hurting most of church, so I rested and waited for things to pick back up, but nothing. So, we headed to LifeGroup.

Monday, June 24th

Another 24-urine test. Thankfully, I had a bit of distraction from being stuck on the couch with nothing happening by watching a friend's kids for about an hour. The kids played great and it passed the time. Then Evan came home for lunch to see me. That afternoon I decided I was going to be productive, so I worked on some hot/cold rice packs that I had started last month. I finished cutting the fabric, and used a hand-held sewing machine to sew 3 3/4 of the sides. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I got 3 little ones done, except for adding the rice and sewing them shut. It was nice to feel like I had done something and not just laid on the couch all day! Added bonus, my feet, especially my right foot, seemed to be much less swollen.

Tuesday, June 25th

I took in my 2 jugs of urine and had blood drawn again...now a weekly occurrence. Then a sweet friend came over for a visit, providing more distraction. After that, I rested up because Evan had said he'd take me to visit Camp Impact! I think being stuck on the couch was more frustrating this week 1) because I felt fine and 2) because Camp Impact was going on, and I had really wanted to be there! In the midst of my rest, I got up off the couch to turn off a light and found a needle with the sole of my foot!! OUCH!! Thankfully, it wasn't in too deep, and it only bled a little when I took it out.

Evan came home around 4:15, and we went to interview a pediatrician. It went pretty well, but I still have a hard time with how fast most doctors/nurses seem to more. I understand they try to fit in as many patients as possible, but when they come in a hurry, I don't feel like I can keep up with them or remember what I wanted to ask, etc. Then, we got some dinner...I was good and got a salad from Cool Greens while Evan indulged his craving for Top That! Pizza. I might have snuck a few bites of his pizza. shh! Next, off to Camp Impact!

When I walked into the Garvey Center, all the Children's Ministers were standing there about to have a meeting. Rusty, my youth minister, saw me first and gave me a hug, and then it was a sweet exclamation of "Laura!" as they all gave me hugs. It was so good to see and hug them all! I went on into Hardeman for the Acapella concert so they could finish their meeting. It was a lot of fun to see 4th-6th graders squealing, clapping, and having fun with Acapella! As their meeting ended, my Children's Ministry friends started trickling in and I got to talk with some of them. Evan let me stay for the concert and for worship afterwards. Camp Impact worship is always one of my favorite things. There's just nothing like seeing and hearing a large room full of kids pour out their hearts and voices in worship!! I love it! When I got home that night and took my bp, it was one of the lowest readings of the past 2 weeks!!

Wednesday, June 26th

I went to Revolution Chiropractic again and then to Barnes and Noble to look for "7" by Jen Hatmaker, a study the girls in Lifegroup are starting. Then I went to lunch with a sweet friend, some of my favorite boys, and their sister. It was nice...felt like old times before my body went haywire. Then it was home to rest before an appointment with Dr. Lewis.

I went in feeling great, chatting with Evan and Susan while we waited for the Dr. Lewis. Then the nurse came in, put the bp cuff on, and hit the button without any warning! I tried to relax and slow my breathing down, but it was a borderline/high reading (143/83). It frustrates me that the nurse doesn't give me any warning before starting the bp machine, especially when that's the reason I'm at the Dr.'s office! My 24 hr urine test results showed an increase of protein in my urine to borderline of mild pre-eclampsia, and my iron was down a little bit from last week, but Dr. Lewis was still very pleased with Tuesday's bp readings and was rooting for me to have the homebirth I want. She did recommend stripping membranes again to get baby here as soon as possible and increasing my bp medicine dosage by a little bit, I think to accommodate for the rise in bp when labor starts...I think. So, Susan stripped my membranes there at the Dr.'s office (we didn't know she could until I said I'd be more comfortable if Susan did and Dr. Lewis said she could).

I left feeling more down than when I went in. Once again, there's the feeling of urgency and trying to figure out what's best for me and Baby Boy and the ever-looming possibility of a hospital stay or induction. One of the verses in my daily devotional today that I read before going to Dr. Lewis:

"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." Proverbs 19:21

I needed this reminder today. I wish I knew what to do, what's going to happen, and when, but I trust in God, his plan, and his timing.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

After Wednesday, when we had to be ready to head to the hospital to meet this baby boy, the rest of this week has felt like a waiting game. On Thursday, mom and I went to lunch and to return...and buy...some things at Target and Babies R Us. Then we came home and I rested most of the rest of the day on the couch. Thankfully, I had some sweet visitors come to check on and distract me from being bored on the couch. Later that night, Evan had some friends over to watch the final NBA Finals game. It was an eventful day, and my nightly bp reading was a little higher than I wanted to see, but still much better than it had been on Monday. Then Friday, I went to Revolution Chiropractic, took a 15 min walk, and spent the majority of the rest of the day on the couch.

I'm very thankful to still be carrying this baby boy at 38 weeks!! I'm glad to feel him moving and know that he is ok. I finally got to the point of being mentally and emotionally ready for this baby  to be here and for labor (I kinda had to), and now I'm waiting...doing what I can to jumpstart things, but still just waiting. I've had a few contractions, but nothing regular. Dr. Lewis is hoping I go into labor soon, and even Susan recommended encouraging things along since the only resolution for gestational hypertension is to have the baby. So, I feel a sense of urgency, but it's still very much out of my control.

38 weeks
And so, I lay on my left side on the couch, I go for short walks, then back to the couch, I try acupressure, and later today Susan will try sweeping my membranes, all the while trying to keep the balance of acceptable blood pressure but still encourage labor to start.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 37...continued

Spoiler alert! Good news!!

Tues. June 18th

I started the 24 hour urine collection. What an experience!! Needless to say, I stayed home all day so I wouldn't have to worry about taking out and keeping that jug cool. I sorted through the last of the baby shower gifts and got everything washed. I made sure to eat a lot of protein, keep up with my supplements and rest. Around 2pm, Susan checked in and asked about blood pressure readings. When I told her, she said to rest on my left side as much as possible, so that's what I did. She was also playing phone tag with the OU midwives to talk with them about my situation. My mom had planned to come up for a few days and got to my house right about the time Susan said to stay laying on my left. All the things I had intended to do, she took over and did for me. The timing couldn't have been better!!

Around 4:30pm, Susan called back after talking with the OU Midwives. My blood pressure readings were too high for them to take me, so we discussed going with an OB. She talked to the Norman (CMS) Midwives and got a recommendation for Dr. Lewis with Mercy. Susan called again around 5:30 and told me that she had called Dr. Lewis and informed her of my situation. Dr. Lewis decided to work me into her schedule on Wednesday, with the caution--if my blood pressure readings were still really high, there's a good chance of an induction. High blood pressure can put pressure on the placenta, compromising it for baby or cause it to detach from the uterus. At that point, I was on bed rest on my left side.

It's so crazy how within the span of 3 1/2 hours, everything changed. My thoughts shifted to packing hospital bags and preparing mentally, emotionally, and physically to possibly have a baby the next day. I cried it all out, took a bath, and resolved to accept the situation and trust that God made my body, He made this baby, and He planned how this baby would come, so no more crying. A sweet friend came by to help me prepare and distract me, then we went to bed early. However, I laid in bed most of the night, thoughts racing my head and unable to sleep. I finally fell asleep for about 3 hours.

Wed. June 19th

I woke up, got ready, finished packing, finished the 24 hour urine collection, and ate breakfast. While eating breakfast, I got a call from the OB office to schedule my appointment for 2:15. It was a relief to know that when we left the house at 9am, we would be coming back home. Evan came with me to the lab to turn in the urine sample, and the receptionist was a sweet, funny, black lady. She drew blood, which went very smoothly, and then I was off to the chiropractor.

Revolution Chiropractic was recommended by our birth class and our midwife both for my blood pressure and baby's position. Drs. Rachel and Adam Duncan were great! They listened to what was going on and were very understanding. It was my first time to get a manual adjustment, and they were great at explaining what they were going to do before doing so. They adjusted my cervical/Atlas area, which is what affects blood pressure, my sacrum to help baby's position, my mid-back, my feet, and head. They also suggested a breathing exercise to inhale for 6-7 sec through my nose and exhale for 6-7 sec through my mouth to help lower my blood pressure. They said to come back Friday if I didn't have a baby already. They were great.

Then we headed home to rest and eat lunch. Another sweet friend came over to bring lunch and check on me. We made sure we had everything (that we could remember) packed, and headed to the OB appointment. After some paperwork and waiting for a while, we went back to the exam room. I gave a urine sample then they hooked me up to the blood pressure cuff (which was not positioned on my arm right), turned it on (I wasn't quite ready), then asked me a question (really?! I'm here because of my blood pressure and you're going to make me talk and possible get a bad reading?!) Thankfully, an error showed (because of talking, the nurse said...imagine that?!), she readjusted the cuff, and turned it on again. I did my slow abdominal breathing and got a better, but still borderline reading of 143/85. *sigh of relief*

Dr. Lewis came in and looked over all my labs. Blood test looked good (my iron was back to 10.3 and in a good range), and even though I didn't everything said between Susan and Dr. Lewis, it sounded like everything was good and clear. The 24 hour test looked good, no protein in my urine. The sample I gave at the office looked good. All those things, in addition to me feeling well and baby moving regularly, led us to believe this is labile blood pressure. Dr. Lewis was great! She kept saying "This is your pregnancy and I want it to go how you want, as long as you and baby are safe." She decided to give me a quick-acting, low-dose bp medicine and discussed stripping my membranes to jumpstart labor and let baby come on his own. She checked me and I was dilated to a 1 and 70% effaced. Evan and I decided we wanted to try some more natural methods of jumpstarting labor before stripping membranes, and if we decided to strip membranes, we'd call Susan and she would come do that.

We left to GO HOME with hope of still having a homebirth!! That's probably the best news we could have gotten, and we were over the moon. We would get to go to church and Evan would get to finish out the volleyball tournament after church! We picked up my Rx, ate dinner at Smashburger, then went to church. Halfway through church, the emotional high wore off and the 3 hrs of sleep the previous night caught up with me, so mom and I headed home so I could rest and a friend brought Evan home after volleyball.

We are so thankful for the good news we got and for our birth team, sweet friends, and family who have cared for us lately! We are blessed


Monday, June 17, 2013

Happy news: Nursery update!

This is how Baby Boy's room is looking these days. I still have a few more things to do, like hang things on the wall, organize, and find a rocking chair/recliner, but it's coming together!


 A pooh bear wall.

This dresser was my brother's and mine when we were babies. Evan spray-painted it for me, and I think it looks great on the robot/space alien wall...

I think we're set with nb-3month clothes. They take up that whole bottom section, and that doesn't even include sleepers/onesies.

Hopefully we'll get it 'finished' soon!!

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 37

Fri. June 14th

After drinking water until I couldn't anymore, I went to Susan's house for a blood draw. While I was there I did a urine ph test, listened to baby's heart, and felt for his position. ph test and baby's heart rate were great, but his position had changed to head-down oblique with his head near my hip instead of in my pelvis, where it had been on Tuesday.

She did my blood draw, and took enough for a metabolic panel and an iron test (I don't know the technical name of that one) because Tuesday's iron check had come back low...a drop from 193 at week 26 to 155 at week 36. 155 is still in the normal range, but it was a pretty significant drop. And, she took my bp, which was high.

So I left that with a list of supplements to start to help my labile (fluctuating) blood pressure and low iron--
  • Hema-Plex, 
  • Yellow Dock Tincture, 
  • Hawthorne Berry (instead of Milk Thistle), 
  • Natrum Muriaticum (a homeopathic for bp), 
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt dissolved in water since I'm drinking so much water, 
  • Smart Water to help with electrolytes on the especially warm days,
  • Red Raspberry Leaf Tea for preparation for labor...it helps prepare the uterus for labor,
  • check out Revolution Chiropractic, who specialize in maternity care and baby position,
  • check out Spinning Babies to help baby's position, and
  • buy a blood pressure cuff to check bp 3 times a day.
I cried.

I picked up most of the supplements Friday in the midst of delightfully distracting afternoon thanks to my bestie, and started them on Saturday. I also started keeping track of when I take each supplement in addition to the food I eat.

This is what the table currently looks like to help me not forget something...


I took it easy Saturday, and most of Sunday, staying around the house and getting things organized and put away.

Mon. June 17th

My morning blood pressure reading was good, so I continued with my day as usual. Just before I ate lunch, Susan called with my lab results--
  • My gbs came back clear (yay, no antibiotics at birth!)
  • I have some liver function compromise. My liver enzymes are fine, but my protein levels are dropped. That combined with my high blood pressure makes me Threatening Pre-eclamptic.
  • I have Macrocytic Anemia, which means I have fewer, bigger red blood cells. That indicates a B12/Folate deficiency, but thankfully the Hema-Plex I started taking Monday morning should take care of that.
So I need to:
  • Hit the Brewer Diet hard, making sure I get at least 80 grams of protein, including at least 2 eggs a day
  • Keep up with the Hema-Plex
  • Do a 24-hr urine sample. We decided to start it Tuesday, and do a follow-up blood draw on Friday.
  • Call if I get a bp reading over 140/90
A few hours later I took my mid-day bp, and it was high-- 139/119, so I waited about half an hour and took it again-- 160/126, and I waited about another half hour and really tried to relax before taking it again--135/86, finally under what Susan had told me to watch for. I sent her those numbers, and she called back, asking me to come over for a bp check and to start the 24-hr urine asap. She also said she was going to call the OU midwives (the place I had chosen as backup to my homebirth) to bring them into the loop, in case a transfer of care became necessary.

I cried.

I got to Susan's house around 5:30, we talked for a bit (I cried a bit), and she said she has faith that all of this can and will be resolved and Baby and I will be just fine. She listened to baby's heartbeat--good, and felt his position--back to head down in my pelvis though not engaged...good. Then she took my bp while laying on my left side, a really good reading, and while sitting, a pretty high reading. She gave me the 24-urine bucket, a thing to put on the toilet to catch the urine and pour into the bucket and instructions of when to start, keep the bucket refrigerated, don't let a potty break not make it into the bucket, take it to the lab, and get blood drawn while at the lab.

What a week! Baby is healthy and moving and I feel fine, which probably makes all these developments a little more frustrating. I know God will take care of us, and however/wherever birth happens, we'll have our baby boy in our arms soon. I'm just disappointed that the birth I've been planning for seems to be slipping away and all my efforts to be healthy seem to not matter now. I have great friends and family who are praying for me and I'm praying for peace and strength through whatever the next few weeks hold.

Adventures in Pregnancy, week 36

A lot has gone on in the last week, and I need to get it down to remember, to share with others who are going/have gone down a similar road, and to heal.

My pregnancy had been pretty uneventful, even easy up until about week 36.

Tues. June 11th

I had a prenatal appointment at my house, where I met Susan's (my midwife) assistant. It was pretty routine: weight, urine ph test, check baby's heart rate and position, blood draw to check iron, and gbs swab. All went smoothly until Susan checked my blood pressure. It was a little high, which was cause for concern because it had been a smidge high at the previous appointment on May 31st. She checked it again a little later, and no change.

So I was left with a list of things to try to bring it down--Hydration, Milk Thistle, Sassy Water, Calcium-Magnesium, Salt food to taste, Rest, Epsom Salt Soak for my little bit of swelling, and instructions to stop by Walgreens in the next few days to check my blood pressure.

Wed. June 12th

I stayed well-hydrated, added the Cal-Mag into my daily routine, and tried to keep my feet up as much as possible, in the midst of playing with some sweet kiddos and a baby shower at Evan's work. That night I noticed my right foot and ankle were more swollen than my left, so I sent Susan an update email.

Thurs. June 13th

I went to Walgreens for a bp check, and it was 134/82 p 90...high. I sent that to Susan, and she decided to come by to check my swelling and bp. My swelling wasn't very bad, but when she took my blood pressure, the the top number was quite high and the bottom number was quite low. She said my options were to wait a few days and see if it leveled out, do a 24-hr urine sample, or do a blood draw for a metabolic panel. I chose the blood draw because I knew these symptoms are indicators of pre-eclampsia, and that was starting to worry me.

Susan attempted to draw blood twice from my right arm, once from my left, and once from my left hand, but none of my veins were cooperating even with a lot of water, hot washcloth on my arm, and squeezing the stress ball (she didn't miss the vein, there just wasn't enough blood for a sample). So, we decided to try it again Friday morning, with instructions to hydrate like crazy before I went to her house. Even after being poked 4 or so times, I was feeling fine. I've only ever given blood 3, maybe 4 times before, and the way I see it...a couple of fruitless pokes probably just brings me to the average. It's good to know that giving blood, or attempting to, doesn't make me dizzy or nauseated.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Days like today...

On days like today, after hearing and seeing about a tornado hitting elementary schools and taking children's lives, I'm thankful my baby boy is safe in my belly...and I almost wish he could always stay safe right there.

The weather lately has been stressful.
-Saturday night, we lost power for about 2 hours (just after finishing painting the dresser...I'll post about that soon!).
-Sunday afternoon, we hunkered down at our Bradley Birth Instructor's house as a tornado actually touched down in Edmond very near friends.
-Today, tornado sirens went off while I was in a store. I drove halfway home, then decided to just get co-op so I wouldn't have to get back out. I was safe, but tornado sirens kept going off. When I got home, I was glued to the coverage, hoping to hear some good news. Then, weather was heading toward family in Texas and in Arkansas. Thankfully, they're all safe, as far as I know!

It was almost more than this pregnant momma's heart could bear, so a distraction was necessary...working on the nursery!

The before of the dresser (Sat night)...

 My role during the painting of the dresser...wear the mask and be the "go-for." 
(Those masks make my eyes tear up!)

 Things are sorted...now they need to be washed and put away.

The pack n play is set up.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Free time, well...

I've been off 'work' since April 29th, so about 2 1/2 weeks. It's been a nice break, but I've definitely kept myself busy:

-JBF...I may have spent a little more than I should have, but cute clothes at pretty good prices. I'm well-stocked with 0-3 month clothes!!
-visit Baby Rhett and Big Sister Ava
-haircut (My hair has always been thick, but being pregnant has dramatically reduced normal hair loss to nothing! I had to get it lightened up, so that's just what I did! I've never had layers this short and I've never had blending shears, what look like zig-zag cutting scissors, used on my hair, but it's so worth it!! I love how much lighter it is now, and have finally gotten the hang of styling it!)
-midwife appointment...I'm down to every other week visits! wow!
-Memorial Drive (Tulsa) baby shower
-maternity pics
-Evan gone to San Antonio Tuesday through Friday
-zoo day with Northwest friends
-picked up the pack n play that was the gift from the hostesses in Tulsa
-shopping and sleepover with the bestie
-Memorial Road Sonshine School End of Year Program to see Deven. I ended up seeing and catching up with quite a few friends. What a night!
-Freezer Meal cooking
-swollen feet/ankles :/
-Power t-ball tourney
-get-together with one some of Evan's co-workers
-Mother's Day
-Bradley Birth Class
-Aqua Zumba, Swimming twice a week
-Thunder games
-assembled the pack n play: quite entertaining to watch Evan try to figure out the instruction manual, put it together, and watch the Thunder game!
-morning with Ava (park, lunch at Evan's building, and library) It was nice to spend some time with her, Evan and I both had missed that sweet girl who has become intertwined in our life!
-afternoon with Deven and Phoebe, helping a friend in a pinch
-date night!!

And there's still more to come! Isn't there always?!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's Day

My hubby was so sweet today. He got me this shirt, a zoo pass (which I've already used once), and took me to get breakfast from Panera before church! We had a great day together!!


Another gift this week--at 32 weeks, my ankles have turned into cankles and my feet are swelling!! Fun, fun!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

My favorite moments

Some of my favorite moments lately have been these:


I love the times Evan talks to and is able feel Baby Boy moving! He's going to be such a great daddy!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Happy Easter...2 weeks later

Happy Easter from the Lathrop Family 3!

 A little late, but better than never!

Evan and I went to Bravo for Easter brunch! So yummy! I was wanting a fun drink, so this is what I got:
Strawberry Basil Lemonade!!

By the way, did you notice the green haze at the bottom of our pic? That's because my problem-solving husband figured out this solution to take our pic!
 Yes that is a stuffed turtle providing the support for the phone/camera.
Genius!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Nesting...umm, maybe?

For the past 3 weeks, I've been gradually purging, organizing, and cleaning areas of our home. I started with our bedroom, which had become a "catch-all" place whenever we clean for company. It had been on my to-do list for a while, so one Saturday morning instead of going to Aqua Zumba, which has been tiring me out much more lately, I got up and went straight to work on that area. I got it purged and organized before I even had breakfast! After breakfast, Evan helped with the cleaning by vacuuming while I moved things around. It stayed nice and clean until I recently got behind on putting laundry away (because I'm transitioning my closet to maternity clothes and trying to figure out where to put non-maternity clothes).

Next up, baby boy's room. We've been blessed with some hand-me-downs already, so I've been gradually organizing them by size.
On Easter Sunday afternoon, Evan and I both worked in baby boy's room. I put away all clothes 12 months and bigger in a tub, while he started purging, organizing, and moving computer components that had accumulated in the closet. When I finished putting clothes away, I moved on to the hall closet to make room for some of Evan's computer components. There were some things in there we hadn't touched since we moved in, so those things either went in the trash or into a very large pile accumulating for a garage sale in the garage. Now, there's quite a bit of open space...who knew?!

This week, my goal was the kitchen. I was hoping to have my friend Amanda help me, but circumstances didn't allow that. However, I was still motivated to make progress on my own. I bought some plastic storage baskets, which helped to make more space. I threw out some expired food, and tried my best to utilize all the space in my cabinets. I have a hard time figuring out what to put on the top shelves and way back in the bottom cabinets, since I cannot easily reach there. I don't think the kitchen is done being re-organized yet, but I've definitely made progress!

I've also done some organizing of my craft, learning, playing supplies and of the toys at the back of the living room.

Who knew it would take getting pregnant to light a fire in me to get these things done that have been perpetually on my to-do list. Unfortunately, I don't think about take a "before" picture until I'm halfway through surrounded by a complete mess, so I don't have any "before and after" pictures. Yet another thing to work on.

Next up, finish the kitchen and start the front bedroom.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Prego Brain

I've heard the stories from moms-to-be before me of Prego Brain, so I kinda knew what to expect. It started a few months ago, I don't really remember when (ironic, huh?), with difficulty completing my thoughts. I knew what I wanted to say, but could only think of words 'beside' the word I was looking for. Evan has been entertained by this, but thankfully, has become able to understand what I'm trying to say and finish my sentences.

However, I feel like a whole new version of Prego Brain rared its head this week, and what a week it was! I've felt my memory slipping, so I've started putting everything on my to-do list on my phone whenever the thought comes...even at strange times. So, thanks to my list, my week started out well with Monday being very productive. Then the rainy weather came, which I love, but greatly reduces my energy and productivity.

So, on Wednesday, a day and half into the cold, rainy weather, Ava and I bundled up in rain gear (i.e. raincoat over her pajamas) to go pick up some soup for me for lunch and come right back. I get all the way to Cool Greens, park, and am about to get Ava out when I realize...I don't have my wallet in the car with me. no ID. no money. Great! I called Evan to tell him what I'd done, and thankfully he had just left work on his lunch break with a buddy, who dropped him off to rescue me by buying and having lunch with us. I felt embarrassed that I got to the restaurant with no money and guilty that I stole Evan away from lunch with work friends, so of course, I cried. Prego Brain at its finest! I'm still so thankful Evan came to my rescue, and I couldn't humbly say thank you enough that day.

Then, today I woke up with a sore throat, which started to show up last night. I took my vitamins, ate breakfast, rubbed Thieves oil on my feet, then decided I would diffuse someThieves oil by putting a few drops in boiling water. I put the kettle, with water in it, on the stove to boil and turned on the stove (so far, so good). When it started whistling, I picked it up and started to pour it in a mug...without pressing the 'button' to open the spout. So instead of pouring out into the mug, the water arched out of the little whole that makes it whistle and got the counter and most everything on it wet. Great! I figured out what I did, cleaned up my mess, and poured the boiling water in the mug with the oil to diffuse.

Then, later today, after Evan got home, I put the mug with the cooled water and Thieves oil in the microwave to reheat to a boil. I went to the bathroom and left Evan getting lunch ready right in the front of the microwave. I kinda assumed he would hear the microwave and checked on it and I thought I'd be back quickly, so I didn't mention it. While I was gone, evidently there was a loud KERPLUNK that took Evan's attention to the microwave to see a stream of water flowing out of the microwave. Evidently 4 minutes on high was a little too long...oops! However, since Thieves can be used for cleaning when diluted in water, I decided to wipe out the microwave covered in the steam. Our microwave is now cleaner than it has been in a while!
Now, if Prego Brain would take a break, I'd be a much happier camper...although I'm glad it can provide comedic relief to my hubby!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Pregnancy is Expensive

This is one of those things I wish I had fully understood before getting pregnant--pregnancy is expensive!! I'm not even counting the costs of anything for baby yet.
  • Prenatal care & labs
  • Announcement cards
  • Increased food intake
  • Pickiness of food
  • Ultrasound 
  • Maternity clothes
  • Birthing classes
It all adds up! Since we're planning for a home birth, it all comes directly out of our account, no insurance help (we were able to get a reimbursement from our FSA for bloodwork). It makes me very thankful we are at our current state financially and that we planned for this, otherwise it would be tough to swallow. Now I just need to figure out how to work Baby Boy into our budget...because I've already started buying some things!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

One fish, Two fish, Pink fish?? Blue fish??

Baby Lathrop Gender Reveal


While searching for Gender Reveal ideas on Pinterest, I came across this Dr. Seuss theme, and loved it! I've been thinking in rhymes, and seeing yellow, red, and blue, even when I close my eyes, for the past few weeks. I've had a lot of fun planning, buying, making, and setting up for this party. Everything turned out great, thanks to my mom and Evan's parents for helping us set up Saturday morning!

 Tissue paper balls hung from ceiling to represent Truffula trees and all the Seussical Foods!




 One fish, two fish, goldfish
Schlott's Knots (yogurt covered pretzels)
Skipper Zipp's Chips and (Fruit) Dip

We had a 'voting' station before the food where they signed a yellow piece of paper in blue or red (typical Dr. Seuss colors) with their vote of boy or girl. Then, they could take a blue fish or red fish with them. I meant to get all of the blue fish and all the red fish together and take a picture, but I forgot.

 Truffula Berry Pancakes (Blue was colored and flavored with blueberry puree, and the Pink was colored and flavored with strawberry puree.)


 If I Owned a Zoo Animal Crackers (pink, white, and chocolate ones dipped in blue)
Bagels brought by a friend...they were a hit!


Chippendale Mupp Tails (sour gummy worms)
Bippolo Seeds (m&ms)
One fish, Two fish, Baby fish

Sneetch Treats (mini Hershey's bars with HE colored blue and SHE colored either pink or red)

 Circus McGurkus Pink Lemonade (Strawberry Lemonade)



We had various Dr. Seuss on the tables for decoration!

I also had a kids' table with a few books, Dr. Seuss flashcards, stickers, hats to color, and a picture of The Cat to put the hats on.

And for the big reveal:
One foot, Two feet
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Baby Boy Feet!!