August

Ok, I know I said I was going to do better at this whole blogging thing. August was a wild and hectic month so this will be a VERY lengthy post. We've also been having internet issues at home so I'm doing the best that I can!! Anyway, August got here in a hurry and there is a lot of catching up to do. On August 5th, I went for my non-stress test and another ultrasound. All went well with those and the ultrasound tech figured Baby Layla already weighed around 6 1/2 pounds. That sounded like a lot to me, especially since I still had 4 weeks left!! Anyway, I was down to my weekly visits now and on the 5th, I wasn't really dilated or effaced any to speak of so I was a little disappointed, but figured things would start happening when the time was right. On August 12, the ladies at my office threw me a baby shower. I got a ton of stuff!! There were so many nice things that I got along with a lot of practical stuff too like diapers, wipes, and lotions. I work with a great group and am so thankful for the close relationships I've formed with several of them. I took my camera to work that day, but forgot to get it out during the shower so I don't have any pics from the event. I did however get Darren to take this photo when I got home to show how large and plump my belly was at this point!

36 1/2 weeks pregnant

I went back to the doctor the following week and still had made no progress. I was dilated between 1 and 2 and only about 50% effaced. Apparently this little lady was going to take her sweet time getting here!!

On August 20, the ladies that I used to work with at the Health Department threw me a shower too. This was totally unexpected, but I can't tell you how much it meant to me that they wanted to do that for me. Again, I got lots of super nice things and can't wait for Miss Layla to get here! Here is a shot of me and my dear friend Dale. I love you girl and don't know what I'd do without you!!

Here are some shots of Layla's room

On August 23rd, I went back to Dr. Mic for another weekly visit. At this point, I still hadn't made a lot of progress. I was dilated to a 2 and between 50% and 60% effaced. He joked with me that it would be fine for me to get started any time now and that I didn't have to wait for my due date to roll around. I told him it wasn't due to a lack of wishful thinking and that as soon as this little lady decided to get things started, I would be ready too!!

The next day was pretty routine and we all went to bed just like normal. Sometime after midnight, I started having contractions. At first, I didn't think much of them, but once I noticed they were coming pretty regular, I thought I better start timing them just to see. Between 4:00am and 6:00am I timed them and they were all between 4 and 7 minutes apart. I then got up and packed Isaac's bag and then decided I better call the doctor and see what to do. They said to come on in so I woke Darren and told him to get his things packed that we needed to head to the hospital. I then called my Mom and told her to pack up and hit the road. Darren called my Dad, who just happened to be at the airport getting ready to board a plane. His uncle in Detroit had just passed away and he was flying up to be there for that. Luckily, we caught him in time and he headed back to his house to pack up and hit the road to west TN. We finally got everything loaded up and packed and headed to Darren's parents house to drop off Isaac. He was finally awake at this point, but didn't seem to upset to be getting dropped off. Anyway, off to Jackson we headed!! We got to the hospital and got checked in and put in a room in Labor and Delivery. The nurse came in and checked me and at this point, I was still only dilated to 2 and 50%-60% effaced. She said I needed to make some sort of progress before things really got started and she recommended walking. So, off we started walking. She told us to walk through the hospital for an hour and then come back to be rechecked. So that's just what we did!! When our hour was up, we headed back to the room and called for the nurse. She checked me again and I still had not made any progress, even though my contractions had not slowed down at all. Then she dropped the bomb on us. She told us we would probably be discharged since I wasn't making any progress. At this point, I lost it! I couldn't imagine being discharged and having contractions like I was having. What was I going to do?? So we just waited........and in about 30 minutes, another nurse came in with papers and told us we were being released. To say I was devastated was a HUGE understatement. When she left the room, I stood up to get changed back into my clothes. When I did, a couple of drops of some kind of fluid ran down both my legs. I wasn't sure what it was, but thought I better have a nurse check it out before we got gone. I called her back in there again and she tested it with some sort of strip, but couldn't officially determine what it was. She told me to get back in the bed and they would leave me on the monitors a while longer to see how things went. Well, it was a good 2-3 hours before I saw another nurse at all and during that time, my contractions were between 2 and 3 minutes apart and were getting stronger and stronger. When she finally came back, she could tell from the monitors that I had been progressing and when she checked me, I was about 4 cm dilated and 80%-90% effaced. We were definitely going to have a baby today! They then sent in more nurses to get an iv started and to get my lab work done. Once this was completed, I could get my epidural. Woo-hoo!!! They finally got all this done and by this time, Dr. Mic was there too. He was in the room just chit-chatting with Darren and asking us if we were ready to have a baby. We both said of course! He hung around a bit longer and it was no time before I was ready to start pushing. I went from being 5 centimeters dilated to 10 in about 30 minutes and with 5 or 6 good pushes, she was here! Layla Claire Howard was born on August 25, 2010 at 4:45 pm. She weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. Darren went to the waiting area to get Isaac first and let us have some family time, just the 4 of us. He was pretty skittish and didn't want to touch her, but his eyes were huge and he just kept staring at her. When Darren took him back to the waiting area to get the rest of the family, they all asked him about her. He told them she was "little bitty" and was just "this big" and held his hands about 6 inches apart!!

Our first family photo

Me, my Mom and Layla

Layla Claire

We got released the next evening and this photo was taken when we got home

Big Brother Isaac. He has done SO good with Layla and just loves on her all the time. Another Isaac funny.....Darren's Uncle Jimmy was asking Isaac how Layla was and his response was "She's out now!"

Layla's first big smile caught on camera

So far, Layla has been a wonderful baby. She's nursing well and rarely cries. At the moment, she seems to have her days and nights a little mixed up. She likes to be awake in the middle of the night, but at least she's just awake and not crying and for that, I am grateful. I just feel so blessed to finally have our little family complete. I am looking forward to spending the next several weeks at home with her, learning her personality, and just soaking her in!