Kehm Family Blog

SUNDAY

7:30 PM: Water Broke

8:30 PM: Contractions every 2-3 minutes

9:49 PM: On the way to Bethesda North hospital

10:14 PM: Immediately admitted. IV started. Pain level of contractions… 8/10

11:23 PM: Epidural has been given to Claire. Not as bad as anticipated.

11:45 PM: Pain level of contractions… 0/10. Medicine seems to be working.

MONDAY

1:00 AM: We’re both trying to get some sleep.

2:45 AM: Nurse checked Claire again. She’s running a slight fever (99.3) and is 5cm/10cm.

4:19 AM: Claire started to feel minor contraction pains again. Re-dosed with more epidural medicine. 6cm.

4:23 AM: Sleeping.

7:19 AM: Another dose of epidural medicine and anti-nausea medicine into the IV. Still around 6-7cm. The day shift has arrived which means a new nurse and more noise. The nurse station is right outside our door. They seem to be enjoying themselves.

8:36 AM: Contractions are not as strong as the doctor would like so they started Claire on Pitocin to increase the intensity of her contractions. She is still resting comfortably and was able to sleep for a couple hours. Another check in an hour.

9:55 AM: No real progression since last check. Sleeping through labor doesn’t seem possible, but Claire seems to have it mastered. Meanwhile, I am having an internal debate on whether to watch the World Cup or Wimbledon. Tennis is winning so far.

11:05 AM: Fully effaced. Waiting for the “urge” to push. Should be soon.

12:43 PM: Starting to push.

2:46 PM:

Alaina Marie Kehm

June 21, 2010 2:46 PM

8lbs 10oz

21″ long

Mother and Baby are doing just fine!

(“End in sight” just doesn’t convey what is ahead)

Exciting news! We have an induction date of next Monday June 21.  At my appointment today my Doctor said I’ve progressed even more, almost 2cm dilated and 60-70% effaced.  It’s reassuring to know that all these contractions I’ve been having are moving things along.

We are very excited to hold our little one in less than a week.  It’s hard to believe she’s almost here after all this waiting.  Such a blessing.  We are also looking forward to our family and friends helping us welcome her into the world once we are home from the hospital and acclimated to a few days of parenthood.  Our hands will be full for sure, but are looking forward to every ‘waking’ minute.

Bobby plans on trying to keep our blog updated the best he can on ‘D’ day since we have wi-fi in our hospital room.  Check back here often in the event things happen quicker than 6/21.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a safe and quick delivery!

Still waiting.  The contractions continue to be about 5 minutes apart….but only last an hour or so then stop just as quick as they started.  Getting pretty frustrated with the false labor stuff.  Ready for the real thing.  Never thought I’d say that, but at this point…bring it on!

Off work that is!  My Doctor officially took me off starting today until post delivery.  The final straw was having a full blown contraction at work last Thursday, and the director of the department walked by and saw me laying on the floor trying to reposition her off my spine.  Pretty embarrassing to say the least.  So with that, I have a lot of time on my hands to nest and….yeah, well I’m still figuring that out.  I had planned on this Friday being my last day, and taking vacation time next week to rest and relax before our little one arrives.   Just worked out to be a little sooner than expected.

On a different note, this picture is of my nephews Caleb and Nathan loving on Aunt LaLa’s (that’s what they call me) belly.  They have been absolutely adorable throughout my pregnancy.  Caleb especially has taken much interest in feeling his little cousin move around and kick his hands.  They are both very excited to meet her, and tell her about it through my belly button…the microphone to her apparently.  Too cute!

No prizes here.  But you are welcome to take pride in your guessing abilities if you are correct.

[polldaddy poll=3284378]

The wait was almost over yesterday.  Claire began experiencing sharp pains in her right side starting about noon on yesterday (Tuesday).  They would last for nearly 10 minutes and were isolated to only one side of her body.  After speaking with her Doctor, she was advised to go home, drink lots of water and get some rest.  Well, the pains never went away and only intensified.  At around 5:30, her Doctor sent her to the hospital to be checked out.

After being hooked up to the stress monitor for an hour, it was determined that the pains were in fact contractions.  We were obviously both relieived that it was nothing more serious.  Claire was under observation for a little while longer to ensure that no progression would warrant an admission ticket to the hospital.  We were then sent on our way with a prescription for Procardia to stop the contractions. (Which didn’t stop until nearly 3:00am).

The ordeal left Claire utterly exhausted, while I was completely wired and in ‘fix it’ mode trying to ease her pain.  Hopefully, the next time will be for real.  Its pretty obvious that this little girl is sick of her uterine habitat.

As of yesterday, only 30 days left until my due date!  Hard to belive time has gone by so fast.  I’ve been very blessed with a wonderful pregnancy, with minimal complications.  A very different experience than all the horror stories most people like to tell.  Of couse things are getting uncomfortable, and sleep is pretty much non existent, but it’s short term, and I keep trying to remind myself of that.  A precious baby will be here before we know it, and that is my motivation these days.

She decided to mark her 30 days until delivery with contractions that started about 2:45 am the night of 5/19.  I woke up with cramps in my lower abdomen which continued around to my lower back.  I tried everything for comfort, lying down, walking, sitting, rocking…nothing helped.  Around 8:45 they stopped.  So I called my doctor.  They decided to see me, and came to the conclusion that yes, I had contractions.  No progression really, just a little softening of my cervix.  So now, I begin seeing the Dr. every week.  Hopefully this little girl hangs on for a little while longer so the lungs can fully develop.

Last weekend was the Pennington baby shower.  It was so great seeing everyone and catching up on the upcoming summer trips everyone is planning.  This Sunday is my church shower, which marks the end of my many parties.  It’s been a blast!  And we’ve definately been showered with gifts from generous friends and family that we love very much!

We have completed two of our three prenatal classes, both of which were held at Good Sam.  The first (caesarian section) was quite an eye-opening experience.  Right out of the gate, the teacher showed a video of a woman having a c-section.   This included footage from the insertion of the epidural, the entire incision, and finally birth of the baby.  We aren’t planning on having a caesarian, but were informed that tri-health (which includes our delivery location, Bethesda North) has a 33% c-section rate.  It was a good class and we are slightly more knowledgeable about the process and hopefully won’t feel overwhelmed if this situation occurs.

The second class, also at Good Sam, was the all day birthing class (9am – 4pm).  The class again started with a video.  I sense a theme.  This time with a mother giving natural birth (no drugs).  The whole concept was to use breathing techniques to control the pain associated with contractions.  After witnessing the miracle of life, the teacher had the “coaches” (a.k.a. dads) lie on mats on the floor to be massaged by their partners.   We were informed this was only to show the Dads how good it feels and only lasted about 4.3 minutes.  The next 30-40 minutes was spent teaching the coaches various massage techniques to use while the Moms practiced their breathing.

A lot of good information was given concerning what to expect during the various stages of labor.  Needless to say, we were both mentally fatigued at the end of the day.

Next up is the tour of Bethesda North and the final class, breastfeeding.

As previously mentioned, the first of many showers was held at the Kehm’s house in West Chester.  Every detail was tended to.  From the baby clothes hung around the house, to the daisy and book theme (cake, flowers, daisy seeds, bedding, invitations, and favors).  What a wonderful afternoon!

Also, thanks to everyone that was involved in making this day so special and memorable.  Your presence alone at the shower was gift enough.