Pictures

As promised, here are some more photos:



Nancy's last belly pic





The fetal heart rate monitor that we stared at for 12 stressful hours










Nancy assuming "the position" i.e. the only position Jacob liked during labor




JKW's first photo


Our first family photo



Jacob's official weigh-in



milk drunk



Crashed out



Resemblance?

Jacob with M and Pa



Jacob with Grandma and Grandpa

Jacob with his Fauxhawk, thanks to Grandma

Ready to go home!

Makinley holding Jacob




Jacob's first bottle

Jacob with his cousin Makinley and Aunt Laura and Uncle Scottie

Chillin' in the swing

Jacob and his Mama

Jacob meets his cousins Brooke and Tyler and Aunt Danielle and Uncle Brandl

Jacob and his cousin Brookie

The indoctrination is starting early

Jacob Kyle Wiltshire

7 lb 13 oz
21 inches
7:35 pm 7/28/10

Well, Wednesday was interesting to say the least. Tuesday night they started trying to ripen the cervix to prepare for induction. They gave her three dose through the night...and NOTHING happened. That should have been the first sign that we were in for a wild ride.

They started the induction on Wednesday morning anyway. As soon as they started the Pitocin drip, Jacob's heart rate started dropping with each contraction. So they had to stop it for a while, then start it back slowly. The nurse finally figured out that the changes in the heart rate were not as drastic if Nancy was laying on her left side. Of course that meant that she had to lay on her left side, in the same position, without moving, for 12 hours. She did get an epidural as the contractions started hurting, but she was still pretty uncomfortable.

After 12 hours, when it became increasingly obvious that Jacob was fine as long as Nancy did not move or have strong contractions, but had problems any time she did, the doctor decided to do a c-section. The rest was a whirlwind. From the time they decided to do the c-section until they handed me Jacob in the OR was only about 45 minutes.

It turns out his umbilical cord was wrapped around both legs and his waist, and that he had twisted in the birth can and was facing upwards toward the front instead of toward the back. So there was no way he was coming out the old-fashioned way.

He has done well from the beginning, and is getting better with his feeding and napping. Him and mom will be home tomorrow.

Speaking of mom...

I have always known that I married an amazing woman, and that I am a very lucky guy...but the last few days she has absolutely amazed me. First of all, she was absolutely miserable all day on Wednesday, but she was so much tougher than I expected. We all had our moments during the stressful times when Jacob's heart rate would drop, but she did amazingly well, and was so much tougher than I would have been in her situation.

And she is an amazing mother. We both have been blessed enough to have wonderful parents, so it is only natural for her to be such a good mom. But she amazes me every minute.

That moment... when the doctor told me to stand up and look over the drape, and she held up that beautiful, coneheaded (from 12 hours being pressed against a defiant cervix) wrinkly, bloody, angry mess of a child up for us to see... is hard to describe. It definitely goes to the top of the list of the coolest things ever.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and well-wishes. They really helped us get through it. It was stressful and a hell of a long day, but in the end, my amazing, strong, tough, beautiful wife and I have a beautiful healthy baby boy.

So in the end, everything was perfect.

I'll post some more pictures when I get home.

He's here

Born at 7:35 pm last night. 7 lb 13 oz. 21 inches. More to follow

Wai-ai-ting is the Hardest Part

Nancy has been in labor since 7 am this morning, got her epidural...but we're still waiting on this stubborn little guy.

Karma's a *****

Well, I went and did it. My little joke has backfired.

The doctor is going to induce Nancy this Wednesday. Yes, like in 36 hours.

Turns out Nancy has a mild case of Cholestasis of Pregnancy. This means that her gall bladder is not emptying like it should, which causes bile to build up. If she carried Jacob for 2 more weeks, then there would be an increased risk of fetal distress, meconium inhalation, and general bad juju. So he's coming earlier than planned. It is caused by the increased hormones present with pregnancy, and it goes away ahortly after delivery.

Jacob checked out perfectly today at the doctor. Her amniotic fluid, JKW's heartbeat etc were all perfect. So it is more of a precaution than anything.

We'll see how successful I am at finding a relief vet for Wednesday and Thursday. I think Nancy would appreciate it if I was there.

We Have a Baby

...coming on or near August 5th, 2010, for those who didn't know. The picture above is a baby that may or may not resemble Jacob.

Sorry for the little practical joke. :) I'm bored while we wait for JKW.

Stroller Derby

Well, it looks like my Mom and Mr. Paul Groom are the odds-on favorites for the coveted stroller prize. At Nancy's doctor's appointment today, they decided that they would induce her on August 5th if she has not already gone into labor. It is still too soon to call August 5th the winning guess, though...because a lot can happen in 15 days. Although she is not dilated at all yet, and only 50% "soft". Being the medically curious guy that I am, I tried to talk her into letting me do periodic pelvic exams on her, so that when labor finally does start, I can quickly tell if we needed to go to the hospital or not. "C'mon, I'm a doctor" has not worked well so far.

If it all goes down on that day, then we'll have to come to some sort of compromise on the stroller. I'm betting I can get Paul to give up the rights to his share of the prize for a case of beer and dinner at Orleans. That way my Mom can have a stroller to wheel J-Dub around while Nancy and I are at the Aggie football games.

I've gotta get on the horn to try and find a relief vet for August 5th and 6th...so I gotsta go. Bye.