2 Weeks old

I am a little late on this post, but free time to blog is hard to come by these days. Just a few minutes ago, I went to work on this post when Jackson asked me "Mommy, can you come give me some extra love?" No way am I going to deny that request!

Well, to sum it all up, we are hanging in there right now. Rhett is a great baby and pretty happy most of the time, but the other times he is really fussy and uncomfortable. He is battling some bad gas and it has been hard to watch him suffer through it. I am living off of turkey sandwiches and not eating anything that I believe could hurt his little tummy, but something is still getting him. I am hoping it is just his immature digestive tract and that it will improve over time. He is not spitting up bad, so I don't suspect reflux, but I can hear his belly rumbilng when he is crying and in pain. It breaks my heart to see him in pain.

This means that sleep is not easy to come by these days. Rhett does great at going to bed at a decent hour and sleeping a couple of hours at the beginning of the night. Later in the night, he begins waking every 1 1/2 or so with painful cries. I am up about every hour to hour and a half every night with him. Plus, he has definitely hit a growth spurt and has been feeding more frequently. Needless to say, I am all ready for him to begin sleeping for at least 2-3 hours at a time. I am running ragged!

We took Rhett to the pediatrician this past week for a bad case of diaper rash that has (thankfully) resolved and our little porker weighed 8 lbs, 11 oz!! I couldn't believe how much he gained in such a short time. Just 9 days earlier, he weighed 7 lbs 5 oz, so he is getting some good milk indeed! I have finally recovered from a MAJOR bout of engorgement when my milk came in. I kinda wish I had taken a picture of the "girls" at their fullest b/c they will never be that big again...haha! But for real, that was some painful stuff!

Aside from some of these minor challenges, Rhett is doing great and we are so thankful for our sweet baby boy. Jackson continues to do well with adjusting to the new baby but every free moment that I have away from Rhett is spent snuggling with Jackson. With Justin, it is the opposite. We switch off being with the other baby constantly to make sure they are getting to be with both of us. We pretty much fall into bed at 9:30 every night and pass out! We wouldn't  change it for the world, though! :)

Rhett at 2 weeks old:

 One more for good measure-Daddy and Jackson drinking their morning "coffee"

Birth Story

Wow, what a whirlwind the past week has been! It all started bright and early on Wednesday morning, the day of our scheduled induction. My mom came over to watch Jackson as Justin and I got ready and headed out to be at the hospital around 6:30. On the way to the hospital we were so excited and just talking about how we couldn't believe this day was actually here. I was telling Justin about all of the things I was nervous about and I am sure I was talking a mile a minute. We got to the hospital, checked in, and got settled for the day. We had an awesome labor and delivery nurse named Betsy who started my IV just a few seconds before my fabulous dr, Dr. Geier, came in to break my water. I had really been dreading this part, but it didn't seem to be as painful as it was with Jackson. Dr. Geier said that I was already 3 cm, so things should start progressing quickly. I declined the epidural at that point because I wanted to get in some good contractions before getting the pain meds. They started me on the littlest bit of pitocin and BOOM, I was off and running. The contractions began coming and were bearable at first. Then out of nowhere, they started coming fast and furious and there I was again as I was with Jackson-crying during the intense contractions, and laughing in between. At that point, the epidural couldn't come fast enough.

The anesthesiologist came in about 30 minutes after I requested but the pain was just so intense. I told him I was a 9.5 on a scale of 10 for pain and he said that I must be moving really fast. I didn't even care about the potential pain of the epidural going in-I just wanted that sucker in asap. After the epidural was administered, right away I could feel that there was still some pain in my back area still, but the epidural still needed some time to work. I had progressed to 5 full cm when I was checked immediately after the epidural. About 30 minutes passed, but I was still feeling pain in my lower back, although my legs were almost numb. Then the pain got really intense again, so the anesthesiologist came back and bumped up my epidural. Once that kicked in, I felt extremely relaxed and happy like I did with my epidural for Jackson. But-I could still feel the contractions in my back-just waaaay more bearable than before. I just laid back and relaxed and definitely felt a little loopy. I kept laughing at everything Justin was saying. Then I started getting restless-I was ready to have this baby. I called my nurse in and she checked me at around noon and I was 9.5 cm. About 30 minutes later I was 10 cm and ready to push. She estimated that I would push for about 30 minutes and have the baby out. I was feeling really optimistic since it took all of 2 hours of pushing with Jackson. I began the first couple of pushes but they were not really doing much. Also, I could feel each contraction getting a little stronger and I could feel much more than with Jackson. TMI alert-I could feel amniotic fluid leaking out with each contraction. The nurse was surprised that I could feel it and said I probably shouldn't be able to feel all that I was.

So there I was pushing, and pushing....and pushing with little progress. The baby was moving down, but very slowly. Betsy said I was pushing perfectly and bearing down exactly where I needed to, so it wasn't that I was ineffective at pushing. The pain started getting more intense and Betsy suggested that I roll on my left side to see if maybe we could try and help the baby move down. Let me just say there is nothing glamorous about pushing a baby out on your side. It is awkward and that is when the pain started skyrocketing. I was sobbing through each contraction and getting exhausted. I had been pushing (4 times each contraction) for an hour and a half and deep down I suspected that my epidural was failing. The baby's heart rate started decelerating slightly, so we tried moving to my right side. This was even more painful! Betsy called Dr. Geier and she came immediately. At this point I was a total trainwreck. I was snapping at Justin and a couple of nurses for not holding my legs comfortably. Dr. Geier gave me an oxygen mask and I was adamant that there was not oxygen coming out of it. I felt like I was hyperventilating. The pain was so intense that I didn't know how I was going to make it through. I just kept asking Dr. Geier how much longer. Justin was calm, but I know he was concerned at how much pain I was in. I kept asking my dr not to do a C-section or break his collarbone to get him out..not sure why I was focused on that so much? She assured me that we wouldn't need to do that. Finally I asked to get back on my back and Dr. Geier said 3 more contractions and she would have the baby out. Finally-the end was in sight! I soldiered through until I felt the extremely painful burning from the baby crowning (and a 2nd degree tear!) and then with one final push...he was out!


As soon as his head was out, Dr Geier said "Well this explains why the little guy took so long to get out. He's OP" , or occiput posterior. Most people refer to it as "sunny side up" or face up. About 4% of babies born to non first-time mothers are born posterior. Here is an illustration as to why birthing these little ones can be so challenging. Also, Dr. Geier confirmed that my epidural had become dislodged, so that explains why I felt everything at the end.




Also, he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck like Jackson did, although it never posed a threat to him (thankfully!). Justin cut the cord and we got our first look at our sweet baby boy.


Welcome to the world, Rhett Derrick Whaley!
7 lbs, 8 oz and 21 inches.
Born on 4/4/2012 at 3:22 PM.

We both loved the name Rhett (one of the very few we could agree on) and Derrick is my grandfather's middle name on my mother's side. Rhett is such a sweetheart and a good baby. Although it is still early to tell, he seems to have more of a temper than Jackson, especially during diaper changes. He is a rockstar at nursing and this past week has been nursing every 2 1/2 hours or so. On our first night home, he nursed almost every hour and had to be held all night long. Now he is sleeping in 2-3 hour stretches at night, which is nice. Still, Justin and I are both tired. Jackson has been waking at night every other night or so, so Justin is up with him so we are both averaging about 6 hours of broken sleep each night. It will get better, though! I will also say that I have been peed (and pooped! ) on more in the last week than I can count! This little guy can go the distance! :)

When we brought him home, he was 7 lbs 2 oz, and at his 1 week check up, he was 7 lbs 5 oz. Actually, he was technically only 5 days old at his visit, so he is officially one week old today! The pediatrician said he looked great and appears to be quite the healthy little guy.

I can't get over how much more he looks like Justin than me. Me and Justin agree that you will be able to tell that they are brothers, but that they will look pretty different. Jackson has been doing well with adjusting to this new life with baby brother. We have noticed moments of jealousy and acting out, but overall he is dealing really well with it. He has been really great at "helping" with the baby. One funny thing Jackson keeps asking to do is to see my "boobies". haha! I guess he is curious about breastfeeding. Justin has been sure to get him out and give him special attention, and I sneak in moments whenever I can. Still, I miss Jackson. It sounds silly because he is here with me, but I miss our early morning snuggle time. I know it will come again with time, though! Also, I have already lost 20 of my 36 pregnancy pounds, so 16 more to go!

I still can't believe how blessed we are with these two precious little boys! Rhett is the perfect addition to our family and we are so in love with him already. This week has been a whirlwind as we adjust to our sweet little family of four, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Although the labor was hard, it was so worth it in the end and I am so thankful for both of our sweet angels. Welcome to our family, Rhett! We love you so much!

Getting all settled in

Well hey there sweet boy!


Poor little cone-shaped head. Thankfully it didn't stay that way long!

My baby boy

Daddy is so proud!

Dr. Geier

First time holding his baby brother

SO sweet!

The boys

39 Weeks-the home stretch!!

**You know you're getting big when your maternity clothes become too small/tight. Here is just one of a handful of shirts that I have left that fit. Thank you Meri for lending me the shirt!

I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been! Jackson was born at 38 weeks 6 days, and today I am 39 weeks 1 day. At my appt on Thursday, I was 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Baby boy's heart rate was 140. I had some protein in my urine, but my blood pressure is normal and my doctor said it was normal to have protein showing up this late in the game. It was a bittersweet appointment, because it was my last OB prenatal check up, probably ever. It is going to feel weird only going back as a GYN patient after I have my 6 week post partum check up. I know it is silly, but i am going to miss seeing my dr/ultrasound tech/nurse on a regular basis. I really love the practice that I go to!

So, we are set for the big day-this Wednesday April 4th. As long as all goes according to plan, we will be holding our sweet baby by Wednesday afternoon. We are inducing Wednesday morning at 8 AM and my doctor predicted that it will be a relatively quick labor and delivery since it will be my second. With Jackson, I labored for about 5 1/2 hours and pushed for about an 1 1/2 hours. She thinks I will push much less this time. I sure hope so!

We have been really focused on doing special things with Jackson during this past week and trying to squeeze in some extra time and attention with him. He is now on "spring break" from preschool this week, so we will have Monday and Tuesday to have some good playground/park time together.

I still can't believe the time has come to meet our baby. I am definitely feeling more anxious and emotional by the day and I have been waking up at night with my mind racing, so I am not sleeping well at all. What can I say, the anticipation is getting to me. I am just really trying to soak in these last few days with Jackson and Justin before our sweet boy arrives. At the same time, I can't wait to meet this little one and love on him! Please pray for a safe and healthy delivery of our baby. We can't wait to introduce him here soon (and reveal his name :)! Just because, here is a picture of Jackson this weekend at the Charleston Fire Museum. He is going to be such a great big brother!

38 Weeks

And of course, I am a couple of days late on this update. This past week has been really good! I had my 38 week appt on Thursday and I had been having a few contractions, so I was expecting some progress this week. The good news is that I am a fingertip dialted and 50% effaced...moving along! I am just glad for some progress!

We have one more dr appt this Thursday and then we have our scheduled induction next Wednesday. We are almost ONE WEEK away (or sooner) to meeting our baby boy. It seems surreal to me, but it is fast approaching. We have been making our final preparations this week and we are just trying to enjoy our last week of being a family of 3. I keep looking at Jackson thinking of how much our little routine, or "bubble" as I like to call it, is about to be shaken. Tonight on a whim we decided to drive Jackson to one of our bigger parks/playgrounds in the area and have a nice dinner out, complete with a special stop for 1/2 of a chocolate donut for dessert for him. The weather was so nice, and except for one fun toddler meltdown while leaving the park, we had a wonderful evening together.

I am so enjoying this age with Jackson and our conversations. He loves to have long conversations recapping his day or what we are going to do tomorrow. His vocabulary has just taken off and he is so expressive and sweet. I will make a separate post of all of the sweet things he says nowadays, but I just love that child so much I can't stand it. I hope that he adjusts to his baby brother well and that we only have minor jealousy issues that arise. He has been very affectionate to my belly and loving on his baby brother.

I asked the dr. if she thought I would make it to induction date and she said that we will be able to have a better idea on Thursday, but that she thinks I will probably make it to 4/4. We had such a great experience with inducing (unexpectedly) with Jackson where the labor lasted just over 5 hours. With this pregnancy, it would just be so much easier to induce so that we can plan better for Jackson's care while we are in labor. That being said, I just hope that if we do make it to induction, that it goes as well as it did with Jackson. I am trying not to think about it all too much because anything could happen. I am trying to be open about the whole experience.

I haven't taken a belly photo this week (surprise, surprise!) so I will try and do it tomorrow and add it to this post. I definitely feel like I am about to pop, although my weight has seemed to level off at this point. We are so excited to meet our baby very soon!! :)

37 Weeks

I am a few days behind of this post, but I have been waiting until I got a belly picture to put up with it. I just took this crummy picture a few minutes ago, but hey, it's better than nothing!

So, at my 37 week visit last Thursday, I was still ZERO percent dilated and ZERO percent effaced! In my dr's words I am still "closed and thick". Yee ha. I had hoped for some progress, but in the absence of any real contractions, I had a feeling there would be nothing. It is still hard to believe that I was already a full cm and 75% effaced with Jackson at this point.

I also tested negative for Group B strep, so hopefully no antibiotics will be needed at delivery. Good news!

My dr took me in for a quick growth scan because I have been measuring on the smaller side for fundal height every week. This is funny because I keep getting comments on my huge belly. Many people who saw me with my last pregnancy have commented that my belly looks bigger, but overall I look smaller. Uhh-Thanks...I guess?! haha! Anyway, I had the tech that I can't stand do the measurements b/c my favorite tech was out that day. Boo! It was a short and sweet scan and he measured at 6 lbs 1 oz, which is about a week behind. He is measuring in the 32nd percentile, which is still fine. I was a little concerned as to why he is measuring a week behind, but my dr. said that is perfectly fine. It makes me feel better that Jackson was only 6 lbs 9 oz when he was born at 39 weeks, so this baby should be close to the same size. I am really relieved that I don't have a 9 lb bowling ball in there! I am really hoping for another vaginal birth, so we'll see.

The only new symptom that I have been having is that my pinky finger on my left hand has started twitching every now and then. It happens more at night. I am guessing that must be related to the pregnancy. I have not had the pregnancy induced carpal tunnel like I had last time with Jackson, but my swelling has increased, so it would make sense that my medial nerve might be compressed again this time. Other than that, just feeling rather large and in charge!

Unless things start moving along more quickly, we will get to meet our new sweet baby two weeks from this Wednesday!!

34-36 weeks

Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks!! We have just a few weeks left to go before we meet our baby. The past few weeks have gone well. I don't really have any really exciting updates, but there have been a few new developments.

I keep having some round ligament pain on the right side, which has really jolted me at times. I don't know why it is only on the right side. My dr said it could be that my uterus is slightly tilted and thus creating more pain on one side. Sometime it feels like it could be a nerve issue instead, but I didn't have this with Jackson. It has been happening since around 20 weeks or so, but it is getting more constant now. For example, if I am in a certain position for too long, it really acts up. And in general, I am just having more aches and pains as this baby keeps growing.

I think he is about 6 lbs now, or close to it. As for me-I am up 29 lbs now, so I am definitely on track to gain at least 10 lbs less than I did with Jackson...yeah! Sometimes when I am holding Jackson, Justin will offer to take him and I am like "Hey, I am already carrying around an extra 30 lbs, what's 30 more?" ha! I wonder why I am having more aches than with Jackson and gaining less weight-Well theres my answer. Keeping up with a 2 1/2 year old wild man is exhausing! Thank God Justin takes him out every day and makes sure Jackson gets out some of this energy. I try to keep up, but I am slowing down by the day :)

I had my 36 week appt yesterday and that included my Group B strep test, which I won't get the results back for about a week. I did have my first fun "cervical" check, which showed that the baby is still head down ( yay!), but it also showed that my cervix is completely closed and just beginning to soften. I thought for sure I would have some dilation, but I was wrong. With Jackson at this point, I was already almost 1 cm diated and 50% effaced. I thought the second baby was supposed to come faster??? I guess this boy wants to stay put for awhile.

We did set an induction date for April 4th, so if he doesn't come before then, we will be at the hospital bright and early on 4/4. This would be so special, because Justin and I began dating on 4/4/04, which as always been a special date for us. Plus, Jackson was born on 8/8, so it would just be kinda cool. We'll see if this baby has other plans, though!

I am going to try and update every week until the big day, so stay tuned. Also, we had some sad news 2 weeks ago. My grandmother who was 88 years old passed away unexpectedly. I am going to write more on that later, but that is another reason for my slackness with the blog.

I will update after my appt next week!! Until then, here are some pictures of Big Momma:

Me and my big brother after the funeral. Please excuse the sloppiness of my outfit-It was a long and sad day!

36 Weeks-I need to remember to smile when I take these!

That's better! :)

"Hell hath no fury like a woman (or preschool-aged little girl) scorned"

Jackson learned this lesson the hard way! We got our first "incident" call from Jackson's preschool a couple of weeks ago. Apparently Jackson's class was on the playground with several other classes. He was playing with a firetruck and a little girl tried to take it away from him. Of course, Jackson hit her or either pushed her away (WHEN will this hitting phase END? This child spends so much time in time out, even though much of the time it is playful). I guess this girl wasn't going to take that lying down, so she bit him....in the face! She bit my precious boy in the face!! The good thing is that she didnt break the skin. Still, the preschool called us to report it. They saw it happen, but didnt get to them in time before the bite.

Jackson was all smiles when we picked him up that day and was in a great mood. I guess it didnt bother him too bad. The school talked to them and made both apologize to each other. This was also the day that he slept in his big boy bed for the very first time! Here are a few photos:

(please excuse the waxy ear!)

I guess he didnt know the little girl because he told me that he didnt know her name. It's probably better that I don't know anyway :) I definitely understand that this is normal behavior for this age as they are all trying to figure out how to express themselves, still I hate to think about him getting a bite on his (perfect!) face. The good thing is that the mark it left looked like a kiss, so in true Whaley fashion, Jackson got to walk around looking like he had just been kissed. haha!