1 Week Today

Well it is hard to believe that 1 week has already passed. Teagan is a week old today!

1 week ago at this very time we were getting ready to have a new baby boy entire the world. We have truly been blessed with another sweet little boy to love.

Our hospital stay seemed easier than with Brayden. We were not there as long because of the timing of when Teagan was born. So some family just came up on Tuesday night and then on Wednesday we had lots and lots of friends come meet Teagan. It was a great day of visiting. To see all who could make it up go check out our flickr site. Thanks to all who came up to see us. Then on Thursday we get discharged. So it was a much shorter stay in the hospital.

Teagan did great in the hospital. We sent him to the nursery both nights in between feedings. YES I sent my baby to the nursery the first night he was born. I always feel like a bad mom for telling people that but one of the nurses told me "I was a smart mom to try and get some rest" so I am going to remember that and not care if others think I am crazy. :) That is what the nurses are there for... to take care of babies! So we just gave them one more to take care of!

Once we got home Brayden and Shelley were here to greet us. Then on Friday we went to Teagan's first weight check and dr. appt. He only weighed 7 lbs 3 ounces. My friends Kiley and Bob happened to be in town from Knoxville for a wedding and so we hung out with them for the afternoon and went out to dinner. We ended our Friday night with a family walk around the neighborhood. On Saturday my parents arrived from Michigan and that allowed us the flexibility to go on a date night that evening.

So all in all things seem to be going well. Yes I have had an extra set of hands here to help since getting home so that does make a difference. Once my parents leave and Daniel is at work I will truly see what it is like being a mom to two little boys!

Teagan seems to be doing well. He already seems to be getting on a 3-4 hour schedule which is great. If he doesn't wake up during the day I go and wake him up to eat. He does better in the afternoon and evenings with eat, wake, and sleep times. Brayden seems to also be adjusting well. He loves to "help". Brayden got lots of new books as gifts from others and a new guitar to play with from Teagan! He loved them all!

Teagan Glenn Smith

Teagan Glenn Smith

June 23rd at 5:06 pm
7 lbs and 14 ounces
21 inches long

We FINALLY got a call from Rex to come on in at 6:00 am Tuesday morning. So we got up, freshened up a bit, and out the door we went. It was the last time we would leave our house being parents of only 1 little boy! We got to the hospital after a couple of stops (Red Box and McDonalds) and we only waited for a few minutes before they took us back to a Labor and Delivery Room. By 9:00 am I was all hooked up, questions answered, the doctor had come, and we were ready to start pitocin. I was only 2 cm but they decided not to do the first round of medicine I was suppose to get the night before!

As the day went on Daniel and I watched a movie on my laptop, talked on the phone, updated twitter, and he took a short nap as well as went and got lunch.

I just continued to progress. This time I actually got an epidural before they broke my water which I did it the opposite way with Brayden. It was easier to sit through the epidural because my contractions were intense but not so bad that I couldn't sit STILL. :)

After that the doctor came in and broke my water and from there things progressed mighty quickly. I was 4 1/2 cm in no time. As the contractions became 2 minutes apart I began feeling them but only on the left side. The epidural wasn't really working well at that side. So they tried to give me some more medicine but it never helped. I was in quite a bit of pain when they decided to check me first to see if I still had a ways to go or if I was close to getting ready to push. When they did this it was 4:35 and I was 6 cm and basically 90% effaced. At this time the nurse began QUICKLY getting everything around because she said you are going to be ready real soon! I was like really...you only said 6 cm and I know from experience I need to get to 10 cm first! Then at 4:53 they checked me again and I was 100% and 10 cm! She was right! WHOA my body went into fast mode!!

Time to have a BABY!

My doctor was paged immediately and nurse started quickly finishing everything so we could have a baby! The doctor got there and 4 contractions later our little boy was born! It was much quicker this time because with Brayden I pushed for over an hour.

My induction was much shorter than the first time and it seemed much easier which we were very thankful about.

After everything was done for his cord blood sampling, nursery checking him out, bath time, and I was ready...we got to our postpartum room around 7:00 pm. I was very hungry because I hadn't eaten since dinner time the night before. Daniel's family came up and met our little boy and brought us dinner. They stayed until about 9:15 and then we were ready to try and
rest a bit. We opted for no other visitors tonight just so we could spend some time with our son and rest a little. But we are up for visitors tomorrow! So come meet our little guy if you want!

It was WONDERFUL to see Brayden tonight and show him his new baby brother. He didn't want much to do with him or ME at first but he warmed up quite quickly!

Waiting Game....

So as most of you know we were scheduled last Tuesday at the doctor's office to be induced. They thought why not go ahead and induce me and we were ok with it.

So today was the day! I got up this morning and just started trying to be productive and keep my mind busy. I did school work, children's ministry emails, cleaning, etc. Then I went to lunch with Liz and Laura at Panera Bread which was awesome to spend some time with them. Then I ran errands and came back home. Daniel and Brayden were back home from their errands as well. So we put Brayden down for a nap and I proceeded to do more things around the house - cleaning, changing sheets, doing dishes, and YES finishing report cards. Daniel decided to play some Halo and burn some DVD's to our laptop for the hospital stay. Overall it was a good day!

I had been anxiously waiting to get a phone call after 7:00 pm tonight to find out when we were going into the hospital. So at about 6:00 pm I went and finished packing my last minute things! We took some pictures of my belly and us with Brayden. Last pictures with only 1 son. :) And waited and waited. We played with Brayden but I just couldn't just sit still so I broke out my laptop again and did some more work and checked my blogs.

At about 8:15 I decided to call the after hours number to find out if the doctor on call could call us back and give us any udpates on when we should hear from the hospital. He did call back about 8:40 pm and said we should hear from them at some point tonight but it could be 9:00, 10:00, or even midnight. I know from being induced with Brayden we are not a high priority when other women who go to the hospital in active labor show up. But I just thought with having to start the induction process over night and them wanting me to sleep while it was going on it wouldn't be so late this time. Well I guess I was wrong. Here I sit at 2:50 am and still haven't heard from the hospital. Of course I fell asleep for a few hours but I keep waking up, tossing, and turning. I just called the after hours number again and talked to a lady who is suppose to have someone call me back again to let me know what the deal is. Need less to say...I am pretty frustrated and annoyed right now. We took our son to the Smith's tonight after talking to the doctor the 1st time but it seems like now he could have just stayed here.

I have been having painful contractions off and on since Thursday night. They have hurt more in my back it seems but the closest they have been are 12 minutes apart and they only last for about 2 hours consistently.

Well the Dr. just called me back...and again more waiting! He says he did speak with the nurses and we are on the list to come in but Rex just hasn't had any labor/delivery rooms open for folks being induced. He also stated we are not the only ones that he knows at home waiting. Honestly this sucks! Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be so concerned about my son's weight and his bones and could just wait and go into labor on my own. But because we don't know about his health I get scheduled to be induced and here I sit waiting, waiting, waiting.... maybe I should try and go back to sleep. Daniel isn't seeming to have a problem sleeping at 3:00 am but for some reason I am...

Well it looks like maybe my son's birthday will not be tomorrow! It may be Wednesday June 24th at the rate we are going. Who knows...I sure know nothing right now. I know it doesn't matter when his birthday is because all I want is to have a safe delivery and healthy baby boy. It is just I had different expectations about what was suppose to happen tonight.

The doctor did say if I haven't heard anything by 8:00 am to call the office when they open. Great at least...5 more hours of waiting. I think I will go back upstairs and try to go to sleep again. Lord - help my brain to turn off so I can get some good rest and peaceful sleep right now! I know I will need it soon! Night...

Ultrasound Today

Our appointments went well today. We had an ultrasound at the doctors office. Our boy was measuring on target. A little small they thought actually. His abdomen and bones were measuring closer to his due date but his head was measuring small. My fluid levels, his heartbeat, and everything else looked good. We got a few more pictures (here is one) but they are pretty blurry. It makes me thankful for all my ultrasounds at UNC.



Then we met with the doctor. We discussed the results of the ultrasound and she said she is not concerned that his head was measuring small because it is probably just because he is lower in my pelvic area and it was hard to get a good measurement. If he had stopped growing or something was wrong she said usually we would see the body area measuring small but that was not the case. I am still at about the same progress I was last week so not much new there. I guess all these braxton hicks I am having are not doing much to put me in labor. I have like 5-6 in an hour...and yes I have started counting them).

So I mentioned I would love to go into labor on my own but just in case I don't could we go ahead and schedule me to be induced closer to my due date just so I could be on the books at the hospital. I don't want to go over my due date too far and I know with Brayden it was hard to get an appointment. The doctor then proceeded to tell us she was thinking of trying to get us in at 39 weeks instead of waiting until 40 weeks if that was ok with us. She said since we don't know about his bones or size that every baby is usually fully developed at 39 weeks so she does not see why we would wait any longer. So after she called the hospital we are scheduled to be induced on Tuesday June 23rd! We will actually go in on Monday night the 22nd to start some things but will not start pitocin until first thing Tuesday morning. So it sounds like we will have a baby on Tuesday. Crazy, exciting, YAY!

We left the doctor's office and my eyes filled up with tears. Daniel asked "Are those happy tears or sad tears?". I said "This means I have to be away from Brayden for 3 nights now and it will be next week." All these thoughts are going through my head... how can I love another kid as much as I do Brayden? How will I share my time? Will Brayden feel neglected or unloved? I am sure most of these questions are silly but I am sad to leave him for 3 days/nights. I am sure I will be quite busy once this new little guy arrives but these are all my thoughts for now! Of course...I haven't been able to concentrate on much since my appointment today.

And even though I have been through having a baby already, I am still anxious about not knowing what to expect since every delivery is different. The shock is still setting in that if not this week we WILL have a baby on Tuesday.

So all this to say...

...Friday will be my last day at Carpenter Elementary

...Friday will be my last day watching Olivia and Brennan

...Friday I officially become a stay at home mom for a few months

...Tuesday (if not before) I will have another precious baby boy in my arms!!!!



Thank you Lord for all the upcoming changes in my life and for the GIFT of life!!!

Pregnancy Update - 38 1/2 weeks and counting

So YES I am still pregnant! I have had many phone calls and emails from friends a far wondering how things are going, how I am feeling, and if I have had this little boy yet! I figured it was time to update then.

I am going to the doctor every week now. At 36 1/2 weeks I was effaced but not dilated yet. The doctor told me he had dropped and was very low into my pelvis but did not give me a station location number. I figured he had dropped because that same week my tailbone area started to hurt when sitting, standing, bending over, etc. This also happened with Brayden as well when he dropped so I thought it could be the same thing. I also had several people at work look at me and ask me if I had dropped or was it just the clothes I was wearing? :)

When I went to the doctor at 37 1/2 weeks I was still effaced (of course...not sure you can go backwards on that) but again not dilated. His heartbeat was in the 140's and I was measuring right on target.

Now I am 38 1/2 weeks and I go back to the doctor tomorrow. They actually scheduled just a normal ultrasound at their office to check his weight and growth. I asked for one just to get an idea of how big he is. I am not as worried this time about my bones during labor even though I know anything can happen but I still feel the need to worry about his bones during delivery so I want to make sure he isn't TOO Big.

Everyone keeps saying your belly is so big! I feel like I am not any smaller than I was with Brayden but who knows. I went back and looked at some pictures and I feel I am carrying just about exactly the same. I have gained less weight and am much less swollen with this pregnancy which is a good thing but I do think my belly looks bigger. I have thought my due date has been off by 1 week the entire pregnancy so who knows.. maybe I am 39 1/2 weeks instead today! :)

Below are some pictures to compare!

34 1/2 weeks this time	37 weeks this time
37 weeks with Brayden	Brayden's Birthday

I will try and update after tomorrow if I find out any news or information about when this new little Smith Boy will arrive. Until then I am really busy finishing up school and watching Brennan, Olivia, and Brayden. My last day is this Friday but my students are in school until June 30th. I am excited and sad all at once. Sad in a way that I won't be teaching anymore but excited to be a mom and see what other opportunities God has waiting for me and our family. More and more every day I am looking forward to my change in careers! Who knows.. maybe my next post will have pictures of our new little boy! By the way...we are closer to a name but still haven't quite decided yet. We are two very indecisive people! :)