Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 2

 We walked and found our labor and delivery room.  Since we were both not thinking correctly, we forgot to check in at the desk and instead went straight to the room.

After 30 minutes, the nurse came in and said she had been looking for us!  Sorry nurse, we had absolutely no idea how to follow directions at that point.  We just waited in the room for awhile.  It was nice to have some time alone to process what was about to happen.  I had to get my mind around that I soon would have contractions, push a baby out, and then officially have a daughter.

At 4:30 p.m., I was started on pitocin.  We figured we would be in for a long ride and tried to rest before the contractions really started.

From this point on, they would increase my pitocin.  Each time the nurse would come in and ask how I was coping with the pain.  I was in mild pain, but still coping very well.  They warned me that things would get much more painful, but I thought I was handling the pain great!  I had no idea what I was in for :)

At 6:15, Dr. Choi came in to break my water.  From others' experiences, I knew this would intensify the contractions.  I explained to the doctor that I had this fear through pregnancy that my water would break and I would have no idea.  Everyone laughed when I said this and reassured me that you would definitely know.  Sure enough, she broke my water and there is no way you wouldn't be able to know.  There is a WHOLE lot of water that baby swims in for 40 weeks!  At this point I was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.

Up until my water broke, the contractions were gaining in their pain level.  I still felt calm and confident that I could work through them just fine.  I would hold David's hand, close my eyes, and get through each one as they came.

I had no idea it was about to get way worse.

By 7:00, David timed my break in between contractions to be about 1 minute.  It was starting to get harder to make it through.  The pain had set in much more after my water had broken.  At this time, I was moaning and in a severe amount of pain.  Shifts had just changed and we got a new nurse, Katie.  She would end up becoming a huge blessing through the whole process.

Katie could see how much pain I was in and asked if I was interested in an epidural.  I explained that I wanted to see how long I could make it without one (side note: this was a terrible decision).  I was in a lot of pain, much more than I had ever experienced, but I was making it through.  At this point I was 3 cm and 80% effaced.  Again, I wanted to try and make it farther than this.

David coached me through breathing and relaxing with each contraction.  On the monitor, he could tell they were only getting stronger and closer together.  Katie suggested other ways to help with the pain other than sitting in the bed.  We prepared to walk around the hallway to progress labor more quickly.  As soon as I stood up I hated the idea of this.  Walking around would not provide relief for me.

She then got a birthing ball for me to try.  As soon as she got it set up and I sat on the ball, my break down happened.  I had lost all hope in fighting through the contractions.  I began thinking there was no way I could handle not even one more.  This caused me to panic because I knew we had a while to go still.  I starting crying and crying and crying.  I didn't know what to do.  I wanted to make it farther without an epidural, but also could not stand the pain.  I would have done anything to make it stop.  David told me he could see I was not doing well and thought this would be a good time for the epidural.  I agreed and our nurse walked us through our options and how it would be given.

At 9:30, David left the room and I got the epidural.  Katie was amazing during this time.  Since David was not there to help me through the contractions, she had her hands on my shoulders the whole time reassuring me that I was doing great and just to breathe.  The epidural seemed to take forever, but I was so relieved to have the pain slowly going away.

At 9:45, I was at 5 cm.  My contractions were overlapping each other and coming on far too strong, so Katie stopped the pitocin.

I thought this would be the time I would get to take a nap, relax, and have that warm and cozy feeling.  The problem was I was still in a lot of pain.  It was so much pain that I was still working through each contraction.  At this point, I should not have been feeling pain, only pressure.  I asked Katie if they could increase the epidural to provide me some relief.  She first tried turning me from side to side.  I had a lot of pain on my right side and she was not sure if the medicine was reaching it.  After an hour of trying to provide some relief and no success, she checked to see how dilated I was...

I was 10 cm.  She could feel the baby's head.

Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 1
Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 3

Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 1

Gwyneth Eden Schuchter joined our family on May 31, 2013!  Here is part 1 of the story!

On Friday, May 31, I had a doctors appointment and ultrasound.  Since I had been measuring small, my doctor wanted to make sure she started gaining more weight.

It was going to be a busy day and lots of running around.  I had dance recital rehearsal and a wedding that night.  Since there was so much running from place to place, David was not sure he would go with me to the appointment.  He decided in the end to go with me.

Since we had a wedding to go to, we made sure to bring a nicer change of clothes and I of course did my hair and make up more fancy than usual.  We kept forgetting things when trying to get out the door and David had to make an extra trip from the car to get all the things I left behind.

After all this rushing around, on the way to the appointment I told David, "Wouldn't it be hilarious if for some reason we show up and they want to induce me?  Then all of the rushing around wouldn't have mattered at all!"

We show up to the appointment and go in for the ultrasound.  The technician explained that she was measuring even smaller and this time was in the 6th percentile.  The baby weighed approximately 4 lbs. 13 oz.  The technician thought that she would just end up being small and the doctor may ask me to start coming in twice a week.  This set our expectation and so we didn't think much of it.

Shortly after, we went into the room for our appointment.  The doctor came back and immediately said, "I think today would be a good day to have a baby.  The baby is not gaining weight and we begin to worry when anything falls below the 10th percentile."

Everything for awhile after this became a blur.  I wanted to burst into tears.  Just the day before I was telling everyone that I was no where near ready to have the baby because I did not feel mentally prepared.  Now I am being told that I will be induced.  I knew my doctor was right because he is notorious for his laid back, low intervention approach, but I did not know how to react.  The doctor continued to explain that I would be taken to triage and monitored to make sure this was the best call.  The doctor on call would make the final decision.

I asked who was on call.  Guess who it was?  The only doctor we had not met yet.  Again, I started to get more nervous and closer to the point of breakdown.  I had heard Dr. Choi was very kind and sweet, but it would have been nice to meet her prior to all of this.

A wheel chair was brought over and David and I set out for triage.

Once we arrived they gave me a hospital bracelet and asked us to wait in the waiting room for Dr. Choi.  She wanted to look over the ultrasounds and make sure inducing me was the answer.  I couldn't think straight or concentrate on anything. They gave us directions for where to go and I couldn't remember the first step.  David asked me what we needed to get from home and the only thing I could of is the car seat.  My brain felt cloudy and I was in a daze.  The shock of it all left me speechless.  I felt completely out of control.

A few weeks earlier I sensed that we should view labor as an opportunity to trust God.  Whatever this looked like, we would make our decision and choose to orient ourselves towards Him.  Looks like feeling out of control left me in the perfect place to choose to trust.

We were called into a room where we met Dr. Choi.  She explained that she also agreed that inducing was the best answer for the health of the baby.  They wanted to see how dilated I was since this would determine if I would be started on pitocin or cervidil.  I was 1 cm. which was enough for pitocin.  From the stories I have heard, that was great!

They gave us directions for how to find our labor and delivery room.  Looks like we would not be at any dance recitals or weddings.  We were having a baby!

Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 2
Birth Story of Gwyneth Eden: Part 3

Gwyneth Eden Schuchter

Introducing Gwyneth Eden Schuchter!

4 lbs 4 oz
18 1/4 in.

Our sweet girl was born May 31, 2013 at 11:52 pm.

I am working on writing the whole birth story, but until then, here are some fun pictures!

Getting checked out!

Daddy!

Karis meeting her new friend.

Crazy faces

We love her little grin

37 week bump picture :)

Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells

So, my track record with Pinterest recipes is pretty bad.  Most of the time they just don't work out.

A couple weeks ago I was desperate for some new and unique recipe, so I resorted to Pinterest for inspiration.  I saw I had pinned a recipe for Chicken Pesto Shells and they just sounded amazing.  I went for it!  Fortunately, they even tasted great!  Most of the time when I cook it is unrewarding and I find dinner to taste just alright.  These were a big exception!  So yummy!

Here are my tips:

• Slightly under cook the shells... stuffing is WAY easier.
• Cook them covered in the oven to prevent drying out
• Add some extra water in the bottom of the pan to prevent drying out (2T ish)
• I used part parmesan cheese and part mozzarella 

Baby Schuchter: Week 35

Baby Size: Coconut!

How I am Feeling:  Most of the time I feel like a beached whale.  Things like rolling over and standing up require way more energy than it should!  I still can't complain too much!  This is way better than the 1st trimester.  Any negative side effects are accompanied by the anticipation of meeting our new baby very soon so it all works out!

Since Friday, I have been having a lot more Braxton Hicks contractions with some back pain mixed in.  Looks like I am at the point where my body is practicing and getting ready!  It is strange to think that we are getting close to the point when labor could happen at any point.  It could be 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or 6 weeks!

Food Cravings/Aversions: No aversions this week!  Cravings... you got it!  Chocolate!

What I am Excited About: Lots of things!  We have brainstormed more baby names.  Turns out we have some really awesome family names to choose from as well.

I am also finally getting somewhere with purging everything we don't need to get better organized before the baby comes.  It is starting to make me think that not having enough storage space is an alright problem to have.  We are keeping the things we need and are important to us while getting rid of anything that isn't.  Yay for organizing!

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: He had made me breakfast, vacuumed, killed bugs, not said anything about my increased chocolate consumption, and helped me pick good first placements in Settlers of Catan.  He is great!  He encourages me, listens to me ramble, and always makes sure I am taken care of before himself.  I cannot wait to see how wonderful he is with this baby!

Also, for some reason I probably could walk miles before getting tired, but after I walk up one flight of steps, I am exhausted and can't breathe.  He will take extra trips up the stairs to make sure I don't even when it is inconvenient.  See... he is awesome.

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: I did not want a big, fancy bedding set for the nursery.  I was lacking cute bedding for the nursery (really we are lacking all bedding) and my mom was able to find a small, inexpensive set that I love!  It comes with a crib skirt, crib sheet, and quilt that we will hang on the wall or put on the day bed in the room.  I am excited!  I am also looking forward to making some more bunting to match!  I think this will be my project tomorrow.

Facts for the Week:

Days left until due date: 30
Days until ultrasound: 4
Episodes of Arrested Development watched: 10... so far!
Strawberries picked out of my in-laws garden: 200+
Total number of cloth diapers: 2

Bump Picture: 

35 weeks 5 days

Things you CAN say to a Pregnant Woman

Often are discussed the things you just don't say to someone who is expecting.  Luckily, most people have been super kind when making pregnancy comments to me.  Through being pregnant, I have learned the go-to compliments expecting mothers love to hear.

Here is a list of things that you CAN say:

1. You are all belly!
2. You are so tiny!
3. You are due in ______?!?!  You don't look like you are far enough along for that!
4. It looks like you stuck a basketball under your shirt!
5. Come over for dinner! (Say this especially in the 1st trimester)
6. Here, have my seat!
7. You don't even look pregnant from behind!
8. Your ankles look great and not swollen at all!
9. I hope I look like you when I'm pregnant!
10. Oh, let me do that for you while you go rest!
11. You are going to be a wonderful mother!
12. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?
13. I just love your baby bump!
14. Happy Mother's Day! (This one made me giddy every time)
15. You have the pregnancy glow!

All of the above are wonderful to hear, but my favorite thing anyone has said to me so far in pregnancy has had nothing to do with what I look like or offering help.  

The best was when a mom told me, "Welcome to motherhood.  It is amazing."

What I loved is that it focused on the joys of what a child brings and it also made me feel an overwhelming affinity with anyone else who is a mom.  I get to be a mom with them and share in how great it is!  I walked away feeling honored and that being a mom is a gift.

What did you love hearing when you were pregnant?

Baby Schuchter: Week 34

Baby Size: Butternut squash... I know what that is!

How I am Feeling:  While my comfort level decreases every day, I still feel good!  I made it through the first round of dance recitals which did make me very tired, but I enjoyed them and only felt the effects of pregnancy after it was all over!  It is now a daily occurrence to see my ankles swollen.  I knew this was most likely inevitable since I am on my feet a lot, so I am excited to have made it this far before the cankles set in!

Food Cravings/Aversions: No aversions, but once again I am craving chocolate.  Good thing we have oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!

What I am Excited About: Getting our apartment organized!  With things winding down at the dance studio, I will have a lot more time to organize and clean.  Since getting married, I cannot stand clutter and I am sure my tolerance level for it will go down when I become perpetually sleep deprived or maybe I will chill out!  Regardless, I want to get rid of anything we don't need.

It is funny how marriage will change you.  10 months ago I always had a mountain of laundry on my floor, still had the dresses from middle school dances in my closet, and maybe vacuumed my bedroom floor once. Now I can't wait to have extra time to clean and bring order to this poor baby's nursery.

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: We needed to move some heavy furniture around in our apartment.  I helped him initially, but with a large protruding stomach and a lack of strength overall, I was no help.  I had to work all day, so he invited a friend over to come lift everything so I did not have to.  It was so nice to come home to our apartment back in order and I did not have to do anything!

On Sunday, I made us a more "fancy" dinner.  By fancy, I mean it just required more effort than my usual dinners!  David wanted oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for dessert, but I was not up for it since I just spent so much time on dinner so he went ahead and made them himself!  I loved it!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: The crib is officially set up!  My super awesome dad came over and set it up with David.  We won't even have the baby sleep in it right away, but I love how it looks in the room.  Now I just need to find some cute crib sheets!

Facts for the Week:

Days left until due date: 36
Dance recitals that have taken place: 3
Dance recitals remaining: 2
Friends in labor: 0 :( I guess I got spoiled 2 weeks in a row!
Doctor appointments left: 4... unless I go past my due date

Bump Picture: 

34 weeks 6 days