A Birth Story

The best laid plans and months of preparation can be changed in one moment! It's Sunday night and we are checking into High Point Regional Hospital, seven days overdue. We got into our room and I was already having contractions. It was a restless night with nurses in and out constantly checking on the progress of Caroline and the baby. All night we could hear the heart monitor echoing his changing heart rate.

Monday morning at 7 we awoke to an unpleasant reality when the nurse informed us that Bradford's heart rate was decreasing with each contraction. She went on to tell us that we may have to have a C-section and to mentally prepare for this possible outcome. We didn't think much of it at the time, but then things began to change. Caroline's water broke about thirty minutes later at 730 and to our surprise it was green. GROSS!!! This meant he was under a great deal of stress and relieved himself in utero. The contractions were unmerciful due to a strong dose of petocin to encourage contractions and due to the fact that even head down Brady was facing my back causing extreme spinal pain.

Because the water broke and the fact that his heart rate was diminishing I was not aloud to move out of bed, which squashed my plan of dealing with labor naturally by moving about. When having contractions you are supposed to relax through them where all I could do was tense up more with each one. After five hours of petocin enriched labor we made the decision that an epidural was in order. The epidural helped with the pain but did not entirely relieve it. They also put an internal monitor on Brady's head to better keep track of how he was dealing with the stress of the situation. By this point it is noon and I am exhausted and dilated almost 6 centimeters. They tried flipping me into different positions to keep his heart rate down. Andrew took a break from the labor intensity to get lunch. While he was out and I slept, Brady's heart rate continuously plummeted with each contraction.

Andrew arrived back from lunch to a startling surprise. A nurse came in not 5 minutes after he was back and handed him scrubs telling him we were having an emergency c-section. They rushed to get me ready for surgery and ten minutes later I was laying in the operating room. At this time we still did not quite understand the gravity of the situation. They brought Andrew in and five minutes later our little miracle made his grand entrance! He was 7lbs and 15 oz and 20 inches long born at 1:30PM August 30, 2010!

After he was born we were told he would not have lasted another thirty minutes because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his shoulders and torso causing him stress which lowered his heart rate with each contraction. It was a long day on Monday but we are just thankful that he arrived safely and healthy. He is doing great and we are both recovering and hoping to go home Wednesday or Thursday. This new experience as parents has been nothing but joyful and exciting!

Thank you so much to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers during this time!!!

Bradford Michael Bost

He is here!!! Born 8/30/2010 @1:30 pm, 7lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long. I have tons of photos below. I will update more once I have recovered. Enjoy.

We have a plan!

Brady has continued to decide to not make his grand entrance into the world...so when I went to the doc this afternoon she said that if he does not come over the weekend I will go into the hospital Sunday evening and be given Cervidil which will prepare my cervix for labor. Labor will then be induced Monday morning and I will deliver sometime later in the day. I am great now that there is a plan and an end in sight knowing that he will be here no later than Monday sometime or early Tuesday morning. I am ready!!!

In the Belly

Like His Daddy

We really think Brady is going to look mostly like Andrew with my lips from what we can tell!

Being pregnant really limits my Friday night activity choices, soon I will be so busy I won't know what free time is. We got all the cloth diapers delivered today and so Andrew and I played with them on stuffed animals trying to figure out the best way to fasten them and to see how they fit!

This Week

This week has been good, it went by fast. My evenings have been pretty fun hanging out with friends and I haven't had to cook dinner all week until tonight! I have passed the time freezing casseroles, taking naps, reading and marking things off of THE LIST. I got some new knobs for the furniture I painted last week and and finished my dad's coat rack he made in 7th grade, and put up the blinds, so the room is officially DONE!!! Yesterday I went to the hospital to see our friends Matt and Shannon who just had their second a little girl named Addison! Congrats to them, she is beautiful!!! It was a little different being around a newborn this time, it got me more excited to get this show on the road. God is deeply instilling in me PATIENCE! The doctor said it could be any day but that if Baby is not here by next Thursday they will schedule me to be induced, so of course I am praying he comes before then on his own! There are so many pieces of so many loved ones in the nursery! My sister Amy made the name plaques, the night stand and dresser belonged to Andrew's sister Allison, and the rocking chair was Andrew's when he was a baby that his dad refinished for his mom. The little stool was made for Andrew by a friend of the family when he was a baby, the Noah's ark hanging was in my room growing up, and the "How to Really Love a Child" canvas beside it was given to us by the Pages which matched the room perfectly! Then my friend Sara painted the Bost Nest sign to match it. The little shelf was also in Andrew's nursery, the clock I bought at Windy Gap long before pregnancy. It is so perfect being that it is a birdhouse and has painted on there the song God bless the moon, God bless me which my mom sang to me when I was little. The picture frame was made by the Pre-K class from last year with all their finger prints, the coat rack my dad made in 7th grade wood shop class, the rocking chair my sister Beth found and gave to us, his diaper bag is from his Great Aunt Sandra and Uncle Gary, and my friend Shannon got him teddy bear with the little hat that he will wear for some infant pictures.

No news...not necessarily good news!

I went to the doctor today and she said still no sign of him coming before the 19th when I go for my next appointment...needless to say I was not very happy to hear that! I am over being pregnant, so to help my frustration I made a list of everything I could possibly ever want to have done before this baby gets here and that is my mission to accomplish next week. I am officially 39 weeks tomorrow. Yikes!!! It is crazy how big my stomach is...the first picture was taken the middle of January.

My friend Sara came over Tuesday and helped me to get the night stand and dresser painted for the nursery! I am glad they are done, so now it is not so much finding things to occupy my time, it is finding the motivation to do finish the things I need to do before he gets here.

Friday was my 27th birthday and last one before mommyhood! Andrew and I had maternity pictures taken that night and then went to dinner at NOT Mexican but my 2nd favorite preggo place to eat Chickfila!!! He also got me a cool white watch that I love:). We have just been trying to enjoy our time together as two before we become a family of three! Last weekend we had our last baby shower thrown by my sister Kathleen and two best friends Mrs. Claire Ruth and Elizabeth Greene. We had a our families attending and it was a fun time to be had by everyone! Claire had some adorable teddy bear cupcakes made, and Elizabeth made an awesome breakfast casserole. Kathleen made fruit salad and got decorations. We got a lot of great stuff for Bradford, his pack and play, an exersaucer, jumperoo, umbrella stroller, clothes, toys, his diaper bag, and Amy made him name plaques that are going to be displayed in the nursery among other things!

Kathleen looking adorable before all of the guests arrive!

The wonderful hostesses my two best friends Elizabeth and Claire, and my younger sister Kathleen!

The adorable cupcakes Claire had made, that tasted wonderful!

My Aunt Margaret, sister Amy, Mom and I hanging out in the nursery.

Andrew and I opening gifts during the shower . Allison (Andrew's sister) came Tuesday through Thursday to visit! We went and got pedicures, and had frozen yogurt from Feeney's (another pregnant favorite) and made pizza for dinner on Tuesday. Wednesday Sydney came to stay as well and us girls went to Maxie B's for a tasty treat. We took cupcakes to Andrew at work, and grilled out a delicious dinner of chicken, steak, baked potatoes and roasted corn. Then we played a fun round of Apples to Apples and went to see Shrek 3. It was great spending time with Allison, and Sydney had me laughing so much the 24 hours she was here! Thursday I went to the doctor and she said he could come any day, I don't think it will be any time this coming week though. There were also no skipped heartbeats, which is GREAT NEWS, praise Jesus!!! Last night we went shopping for three hours returning and purchasing the last of everything for Bradford before he arrives. We also bought a video camera, which we are very excited about using to chronicle his little life! I started painting the tree mural in the nursery Thursday and finished it today! I am pretty pleased with myself I didn't know if I had the creativity to do it alone...but after looking at some online I just free-handed it. I brought Heather's idea to fruition and it turned out as I had pictured it in my head. The birds were like the ones Heather had on the shower invitation and just seem to fit perfectly!

Andrew was trying to show me support on Saturday and would come in and check on my progress of painting. His mom brought a box of stuff from high school to the house last weekend and Andrew was going through it. He came in proudly wearing all of the wrestling medals he won from high school! From what I can tell he was a pretty big deal! :) He keeps me laughing that's for sure!!!