Catching up with the Cullens: July 2011

WELLLLL. I can honestly say I had TOTALLY forgotten about my blog!!! Sit down, this is probably going to be a long post!!

Here is a recap of the past 4 months!!!!!!!!!!

On April 8, I went into the hospital with contractions every 5-7 minutes apart. My doctor had already told me the day before he wouldn't be a BIT surprised to see me before the weekend was over. I called my parents and they made the hour and a half trek to Huntsville. By the time they got here the contractions had stopped, but I was dealing with some pretty high blood pressure. (Which had been high the past few weeks.) My doctor is in a big practice (5 doctors total I think) and wasn't on call that day. They did all the blood work to test me for preeclampsia, but all came back clear. And I was SADLY sent home to be on total bed rest until Carter wanted to come. The nurse said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were back here at Midnight tonight!" Which made me a little irritated that they were sending me home!

Here I am in the hospital with my new iPad 2! I stood in line for it earlier that morning! Jon gave it to me for my push gift!

My Mom decided to stay with me and help me get the nursery done and she was also afraid I would have him and she would miss it!

Remember how I said I was suppose to be on total bed rest?! Well, if you know me, you know I can't sit still!! :) I did it for the first night and enjoyed being waited on hand and foot, but I wanted that baby OUT! :)

That sunday, April 10, Mom and I decided to go to Bridgestreet for a little shopping and some yogurt. As I walked into the yogurt shop who of all people is sitting there with his family?! Um, yes..MY DOCTOR!! I almost turned and walked out thinking he was going to fuss at me for not being at home in the bed. BUT, to my surprise he didn't even KNOW that I was suppose to be on bed rest and couldn't believe they sent me home! He had said "come see me Monday, if you make it through the night, and we'll talk baby!" I couldn't believe it! I knew at that moment I was going to have Carter on April 11th more than likely.

Here I was the day before he was born. Look HUGE!!!!!

Well, we went home and finished the nursery at about 10 pm. I laid down, but just couldn't get comfortable. My back was KILLING me and I was having TONS of pressure and the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. Jon and I timed them on my new iPad and they were less than 5 minutes apart. Mom was sleeping during all this and had NO idea what was going on. I woke her up around Midnight and said "it was time". I've never seen her move so fast. HA! :)

We got to the hospital and the reality started to set in with me. I was going to GIVE BIRTH that day. I remember being so nervous, but tried not to show it. My nurses were absolutely INCREDIBLE. They walked me through everything they were doing and that calmed me and eased my fears/anxieties. My biggest fear of the whole labor process was: GETTING an IV!!!!! YES, I know, but I had NEVER had one. I had NO idea what to expect and always heard they HURT. But, my nurse was AMAZING and got it on the first try and it didn't hurt AT ALL!!!

Funny side note: They were doing clinicals at my hospital and asked if I minded if a student nurse could come in to observe. As most of you know, I'm pretty shy and modest. Much to everyones surprise I said, "SURE!" Well, little did I know that it would be a 6'6" 250 pound MAN!!!!!! All I could do was LAUGH- JUST my luck! But, he was SO sweet and kept in the background saying "THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT TO DO!" HAHA! Poor thing..

At about 6 am they started potocine(spell check!) to help with the process. (the D word just grosses me out so I won't say it and you won't read me mention it! HAHA!) At around 8 they told me if I wasn't going natural that they encouraged me to go ahead and get the epidural. I was very nervous about that as well, but didn't even feel a thing!! 9 they checked me and said my water was bulging. We kept waiting and waiting on the doctor. Of course mine wasn't on call that day either-ugh! Finally around 10 the doctor came and broke my water. They started this thing called "wedging". It was the neatest thing. They put pillow all around me on my right side, then 30 minutes later changed it to my left side. They did that until about 12:30 and I knew then I was getting closer. The pain was getting more intense and I got in the "zone" everyone talks about! My sister had just gotten there with my Dad and I was SO glad Natalie could make it. My Mom and Sister went to the waiting room to talk to him and it was then I felt the urge to push. I called the nurse and she came in and checked and said "um, your ready to push where is your mom and sister?!" Jon was going to get them, but luckily Jon's Mom was there and ran and got them for us.

I literally pushed for 10 minutes and out came my beautiful baby boy. Just thinking about it makes me cry. He, Terry Carter Cullen, had FINALLY made his grand entrance. And it was nothing short of amazing and perfect!!! My first questions was: DOES HE HAVE HAIR?! All that heartburn need to count for something...and BOY did he have hair!!!!!!!

He was a PERFECT 6 pounds 13 oz and 20 inches long. So tiny and absolutely beautiful. I'll never forget after they brought him back from the bath, the nurse said, "this baby doesn't have one dimple, he has 2 HUGE dimples!" I was sooooo happy to hear that he got at least ONE thing from his mommy! Everything else is Jon made over!!!!! He is his daddys child! :) We call him little Jon Jr! :)

My life was changed for the better the moment they put him in my arms. Nothing else at that moment seemed to matter. I've never felt happier in my life. The love I felt for him was so unconditional. He was perfect. :)

One thing that was VERY important to me doing was breastfeeding. I had made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to let anyone tell me I couldn't do it. And boy have I stuck by that. Carter was named a breastfeeding champ by the nursery staff. He latched on immediately and we haven't had any problems since. I was so happy to go to a hospital that was for breastfeeding and wouldn't give them formula unless you asked for it.

Fast forward about 5 weeks........

The scariest day of my life. Jon and I had just gone to Wal-Mart and grabbed some Arbys while we were out. He had JUST told me, "Don't call I have a very important meeting with Universal Studios today!" (thats where their annual conference was being held) He left, I put Carter in his vibrating seat and I began to eat my lunch. Almost immediately, I felt a pain in my stomach that was WORSE than child birth. I was literally in agony. I called my Mom screaming on the phone because I didn't know what to do. She told me I HAD to call Jon no matter how important the meeting was. I did, and he didn't answer. I texted him "911" and he was home within 5 minutes. (good thing about living so close to work!) By that time I was in the bath having horrible horrible stomach pains. I called the doctor and was waiting for the nurse to call me back. It literally took them 2 hours before I had to call them BACK. I was hurting so bad and so frustrated. and scared. I didn't know WHAT was wrong with me. They sent me straight to my doctor. He took one look and said, "it's one of 2 things. Gallbladder or appendix." He ruled out appendix because it was on my right side and because I had just eaten. He ordered an ultrasound for the following morning to see what it was for sure.

My amazing Mom came up to go with me and help with Carter. We had to be there at 7 am. I went back alone. The ultrasound tech obviously couldn't say much. At the end of the appointment I asked him if he saw anything. All he said was "I hope your not real attached to that gallbladder!" The next day it was confirmed I needed surgery to have my gallbladder removed. This all happened so fast. The surgery was scheduled for a Monday and I had 4 days before it. I have NEVER been SO SICK before in all my life. I don't wish Gallbladder attacks on my worst enemy. Trying to take care of a newborn and being SO sick was NOT my idea of fun. Again, I am blessed with an amazing Mom who was there through it all. She helped me with Carter and I laid in bed with agony. If you've ever had an attack you know how bad they are! I had a total of 5 attacks and thought I was literally going to die. I kept praying that I could make it until Monday to have the surgery and obviously I did. :) Literally a very simple surgery and I was able to pick up Carter the following day. I am so thankful I will NEVER have another one of those attacks again!!!! :)

The following weeks were very quiet, thankfully!! Carter is growing like a weed! He weighs over 14 pounds at 3 1/2 months old. He is the cutest baby boy in the whole wide world. :) I have started cloth diapering him and absolutely love it. It's not like it use to be. It's totally different and I have become obsessed with it! :) The good thing with clothing too, is that I can use them for all my babies. So its definitely an investment and my doctor told it was the best thing for his little skin. :)

We just got back from the beach with parents. We had a BLAST!! The next post will be pictures from there. I think this one is long enough!!!! Here is a sneak peak and my current favorite picture of him: