Max’s Arrival

It took me 4 weeks to post Raelyn’s birth story so it’s only fair that it took me 4 weeks for Max too. Maybe it just takes me that long to get in a groove and to process my blessings. ;)

I can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks since baby Max was born. In some ways it’s gone by so quickly. In other ways it seems like a lifetime ago that I stepped into that operating room. It’s amazing how in such a short time it’s already difficult to remember what life was like before he arrived.

One last maternity photo from the triage room.

We arrived at the hospital on our scheduled date, Tuesday, June 14th, two hours before surgery time. Registration was a breeze since they were expecting us and then we were escorted to a triage room to prepare for surgery. My triage nurse started my IV and attached a monitor to my belly so we could hear Max’s heartbeat. I remember telling Mark, “This is the last time we’ll hear his heartbeat from the womb.” I think it was starting to hit me that this pregnancy was coming to an end in a short time. While in triage we met the anesthesiologist and the nurse who would care for Max and me post delivery. The staff was in and out of the room as they checked our vitals, drew blood, explained what would happen, etc.

Around 11:15 am, I sent Mark off to grab a quick lunch knowing that he wouldn’t have time to eat for several hours after delivery. The nurse told him to hurry in case the doctor arrived early. He made it back in plenty of time and even moved all of our things to my permanent room. At 11:55 am the nurse walked me to the OR and Mark waited in triage while the nurses prepared me for the c-section and the anesthesiologist administered the spinal.

The OR was full of nurses and they were all busy getting me ready. They were so nice and worked to keep me at ease. I could feel my nervousness start to set in. It was still hard to believe that I would be meeting our baby very soon. The staff asked if we had a name picked out and I finally felt like I could share. These were the people who would see his face first, after all. There was a collective, “Aww” when I told them, “His name is Maximus and we’ll call him Max.” From them on, they referred to him as Max instead of “the baby”.

The anesthesiologist explained what she was doing as she administered the spinal and she let me know that I would feel pressure as I was poked and prodded, but not pain. It was such a strange sensation. I had this desire to move my legs or wiggle my toes but no matter how many signals my brain sent, nothing was moving. Mark came in wearing a scrub gown and cap. He sat at my head and held my hand through the whole procedure.

Dr. Voelkel arrived and the next thing I know she had started the c-section. I watched Mark the whole time and I remember asking him a few times if he was ok. The anesthesiologist kept whispering in my ear what was going on and I remember at one point she said, “You’ll want to see this later” and then she grabbed our camera and started snapping photos of Dr. Voelkel pulling out the baby.

At 12:35 pm, Maximus Bruce Wood Repko was born and shortly after that Dr. Voelkel lifted him over the curtain and I got my first glimpse of my son.

I couldn’t control the tears falling from my eyes. They quickly whisked Max away and all I could do was watch from the operating table as they cleaned him and did a thorough exam. I remember thinking that all I wanted to do was hold him, yet I could barely see him from that distance. 

Mark went back and forth between Max and I. He brought the camera over at one point to show me close up pictures of Max. My first real look at our son was through our camera. He looked beautiful!   It seemed to take forever before I was put back together and they were done weighing, measuring, and checking out Max. When they finally brought him to me I was overcome with emotions. Here was my son. The baby I carried inside of me for 39 weeks.

I was so happy to finally have him in my arms. Did I mention that he is absolutely perfect?

The rest of the day is a blur to me, but I do remember our very first visitor meeting her new baby brother!

This is only day one in Max’s story. Just like Raelyn, we pray that he’ll make a big impact in this world.

James 1:17  "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (NIV)

38 Weeks: 7 Days and Counting

I’m pregnant, did you hear? haha!  Even though I’m due in two weeks (delivering in 7 days), sometimes it catches me off guard to think that I am about to have a baby. Sure, the volleyball belly reminds me that I am carrying a child. But I still have to remind myself that this child is going to come out into the world and into our family in just one short week! At least we finally have moved the office to the basement and created a nursery for him. (pictures to come as it nears completion) We still have the car seat to install, hospital bags to pack, and a few supplies to purchase. Our last minute preparation is in no way correlated to our excitement level for this baby. We all can’t wait for him to arrive! I guess it’s just that we know the fun part will come after he’s born…sleepless nights and all.

36 weeks

Monday I enter my 36th week of pregnancy. Here I am in all my pregnant belly glory. ;)

I’m not sure how my body will be capable of stretching further, but I hear that it’s possible and that it will happen. I’m just going with the flow.

We are scheduled to deliver this little dude at 39 weeks. Wow, only 3 weeks until we get to meet him!!!

34 week check-up

Last Thursday I had my 34 week appointment and my final ultrasound. I’m fairly certain my OB was humoring me with a placenta check this late in my pregnancy. The results are in… I still have placenta previa, which means that part of the placenta is covering a bit of my cervix. And that means my OB has determined it will be safest to plan for a c-section. Mark and I had plenty of time to expect this news so we aren’t surprised and want to proceed in the safest way possible.

It’s a bit weird knowing the date and time this little guy will be entering the world, but it’s also nice that we can plan ahead.  I’ll share the date later since we haven’t told all of our immediate family that piece of info.

The rest of my appointment went well. Baby boy is measuring right on track, his heart rate was 140 (very good), and I had another 0lb weight gain. I guess the boy is taking in all of my calories. :)

Aside from another sinus infection (which my dr prescribed antibiotics for), a few aches and pains, and pregnancy fatigue, I’m feeling pretty good.

I can’t believe we are in the final stretch and will be a foursome sometime in June!

Guess the baby Round 2

Remember this game when we were expecting Raelyn?

I guess it’s about time we start the new guessing game for baby #2. Go HERE to enter your guesses.

Grand prize winner will receive… bragging rights. lol

13/52 my perspective

I keep hearing things like “You’re not that big.” and “You barely look pregnant.”

Well, my perspective tells me something different. I’m pretty sure that my normal size is NOTHING like my current 7 month pregnant size. I know people are just trying to be nice, but a pregnant woman can’t take the verbal abuse. ;)

28week Appointment

This Wednesday I had my 28 week appointment. It’s hard to believe that I’ve entered the 3rd trimester! This appointment was “fun-filled”.  I went directly to the lab and was given the wonderful orange glucose drink to swig down. The lab lady told me 10 times to make sure to drink it all within 5 minutes. “Don’t forget, FIVE MINUTES!” Ok, ok, I think I get it. ;)

My second stop was with the ultrasound tech. Mark and I enjoyed watching the screen as she did a very thorough job of measuring Baby Boy. She even did a quick “recheck” to assure us that we are indeed having a boy. lol  He is measuring perfectly. Some measurements were exact at 28w2d, overall his average measurements showed him at 27w5d and  2lb 7oz. Perfect! The tech also checked the placement of the placenta and it is still lower than what the doctor would like. She is calling it moderate previa and we’ll have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to check it again. Hey, another chance to see Baby Boy!

His profile picture. Look at those lips!

His cute face. He has full cheeks and lips already.

You’ll have to study this one a minute, but  you can see his legs crossed near his ankles and the bottom of his feet. He’s just chillin’.

After the ultrasound I headed back to the lab for the glucose test blood draw. My final stop was with the doctor where I had my belly measured and she told me everything seems great. Woot! And for anyone wondering, I gained the perfect 1lb a week between these last two visits.

Now we start the every two week appointments. It seems unreal we are this far along! Next week we begin the three week birth classes.

I really NEED to get started on his nursery. Poor little guy is already going to have baby #2 complex. ;)

24w3d: Waterworks

I’ve officially entered the crying phase of pregnancy. I’m not sure if everyone hits it at 6 months but this is where I am.  I actually find it ridiculous when tears form in my eyes over something I would usually laugh about.

Let’s see, yesterday I teared up reminiscing about Raelyn’s first weeks and how I went through a mini-post-postpartum and cried back then about not giving birth to her or being able to breastfeed.  I also cried last night when Mark called me from his business trip and said he missed us. Oh yes, let’s not forget the tears formed because my OB reminded me, “1 lb a week, Stephanie.” (I gained 6 lb in the last 4.5 weeks.)

So far this morning I teared up when reading another mom’s blog celebrating her daughter’s first birthday and her reminiscing about one year ago today when they received a call that a baby girl had been born and the mother wanted them to be her baby’s parents. I also cried when my mom called and I told her Raelyn was up every hour last night and has vomited 4x this morning. (Although this cry was most likely exhaustion tears.)

At this point in my pregnancy I am happy that both Mark and I get to feel the baby moving quite often. It’s easiest to feel his kicks and punches when I am laying still but I am noticing his movements at other times too. It’s so strange to feel him and be reminded that there is indeed a little life growing inside of me. (Cue the tears.)

Yesterday I had my 24 week check up. All is well with baby boy. His heart rate measured around 153. Everything with the pregnancy seems to be normal and the only directive my OB gave me was to cut back on carbs and sweets (which made me laugh since we don’t eat too many of those) and do more walking (since I gained those dreaded 6 lbs. lol). My next appt is at 28 weeks where I’ll have another ultrasound to check my placenta (remember it had been too close to my cervix) and I’ll have the glucose-screening test (bring on that thick orange drink). I’m looking forward to seeing more pictures of the baby!

And no post is complete without a few pictures of the cutie pie of the house. (These are both from my phone so quality is just eh.)

Happy to get a bath this morning. Baths make everything better!

A few mornings ago when both Raelyn and Sheba were paying full attention to Mark. It’s pretty funny that the small pint bosses the big one around all day long!

20 weeks – It’s a…

Here’s one thing I’ll never understand… pregnancy math. According to pregnancy math, I’m officially half way through. But, the first 4 weeks one isn’t actually pregnant. So shouldn’t 1/2 way be at what we call 22 weeks? Has anyone else ever pondered this?

Friday I had my 20 week appointment. All is well so far. I was happily surprised to learn that I had only gained 3lbs since my last appointment. I feel like I’ve really sprouted out since then so it’s nice to know I’m not packing on the lbs like I thought (so far). We learned during the ultrasound that the placenta is still close to my cervix so I’ll need another ultrasound in 8 weeks to recheck it. Nothing to worry about at this point. If it doesn’t move farther away then my doctor will plan on a c-section. We would both rather avoid a c-section but it won’t be the end of the world if my doctor deems it necessary for a safer delivery.

Here are a few ultrasound pictures.

The ultrasound tech was quite thorough. She showed us the baby’s brain (and mentioned we have a smart baby), kidney’s, liver, heart, bladder, eyes, nose, mouth, arms, fingers, legs, feet, etc. It was pretty amazing! The baby was laying face down so we didn’t get a profile view but hopefully will at the next ultrasound. All of the baby’s measurements were right on target at either 19w5d or 19w4d (Friday I was 19w4d). Perfect!

Well, that’s about it for the 20 week update. Oh, did you want to know the gender?  For modesty, I’ll keep that photo offline. But I will tell you that we’re having a…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOY!!!