Delivery Day

The story of Parker's arrival! My mom and dad were scheduled to come out to Oklahoma on Monday the 22nd, and my doctor had planned to induce me on Tuesday the 23rd. Everything was going well and I had a checkup scheduled for Thursday February 18th at 1:00pm. Well, Wednesday came around and I was feeling like crap - just sick all day. I didn't want to do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV. This was actually unusual because I hadn't had too many "pregnant days" in the whole 38+ weeks, but I was feeling nauseous and crappy so I just laid around all day.

Low and behold about 2:30 AM on the 18th I woke up to some contractions. At the time I didn't think much of it because I had been having contractions off and on for about 2 weeks, so I just tried to go back to sleep...after about 30 minutes I noticed that these contractions were "different". I decided to get up and see if I could pinpoint what was different about them. At about 3:00 AM I thought that my water was starting to break, still not a big deal, and I waited until about 4:00 and went to wake up Ben - I figured we should at least go get things checked out at the hospital. I hadn't even called my mom to tell her what was going on - assuming we would have plenty of time and I would just call when/if we knew for sure what was going on. The funniest part before we went to the hospital was that I was going around the house and putting last minute things into the suitcase when Ben just looked at me and said "Do I at least have time to take a shower?". Yes honey, this kid isn't rushing out or anything. So Ben took a shower and I got our things together. We were getting ready to leave for the hospital at about 4:45 when my water officially broke, so I decided to call Mom; I wanted to make sure she could try to catch the first flight out of Medford in the morning.

After an exam to confirm I was really in labor I was admitted to the hospital at about 5:30am. When I was admitted I was dilated to 4 and 100% effaced. I was hoping that the anesthesiologist would be waiting at the door to give me my epidural, but unfortunately I had to wait about a half hour before he came. By the time that I got my epidural I had felt enough real contractions to know how much I would be valuing the epidural...I don't know how people do it naturally!

From 5:30 until about 9:00 I was regularly checked by the nurses and midwife on staff to ensure everything was moving along. Unfortunately they weren't able to get a good read on the baby's heart rate. We started with an external monitor, but then had to use an internal monitor to try to monitor him. After watching his heart rate for about 30 minutes the nurses and midwife were concerned that he looked like he might be in distress. They checked with my doctor and sure enough she decided it was best to do a C-section. It's true that you never see things move so fast! One minute we were laying around in the hospital room and then next I was flanked by nurses, the anesthesiologist, my doctor, and Ben and was wheeled into the operating room. The actual delivery went very fast, but I HATED the feeling of the spinal block on my body, not being able to feel below my waist was beyond belief.

Parker was officially delivered at 10:15am on February 18th. Ben was able to see him come out and hold him as soon as he was checked out. Then Ben went with him back into the delivery room while I was sewed up.

When I was brought back into the delivery room our son was under the heat lamp sleeping. I asked Ben "who" he looked like - we had a couple of names in mind...and he said he looked like a Parker. So, Parker Kenneth Culver was named.

The stars had also aligned for my mom who was able to arrive in Lawton at 4:00pm on the 18th. She did miss the delivery, but with all the drama and worry right before Parker's arrival, we were all relieved that she didn't have to worry.

We spent the rest of the 18th and 19th in the hospital and were allowed to go home on the 20th. Everything was looking great for both Parker and me, so we were given the doctor's blessing to finish recovering at home.

And the waiting continues...

We have officially made it to full term! We passed the 37 week mark last Friday on February 5th - which means that any time the baby comes will be considered "on time". We decided to mark week 37 with an exciting visit to the doctors office (on Monday Feb 1st) when she told us things were "moving along". So far I have started dilating (2cm), the baby is 50% effaced, and the baby is head-down. This is all great news except that Dr. Carson couldn't tell us any more about when Baby Culver might make his/her arrival! So, of course now we have Ma Pat, Pa Lar, and Ben on HIGH alert. Ma Pat officially has her bags packed to leave at a moment's notice and Ben knows that he can NEVER have his phone off!
Of course now I think that every pain or sensation is going to be the beginning of something - so I am constantly on edge! Also, everyone has put in their two cents on when would be the "best day for baby to come". Ben would appreciate if I go into labor on February 19th so he can duck out of a battalion run, my friend Tara (who is my dog sitter/parent picker-upper) would like any day after this Friday, and my mom would like me to either wait until she gets here on the 22nd or at least have a long enough labor she has time to arrive! I have told them all to voice their requests to someone a little smaller than myself who I have read has very good hearing and might recognize their voices - maybe it will give us an indication on who Baby Culver will actually listen to when he/she is growing up!
And so the waiting continues...

Nursery!

Ok, so after MUCH nagging from un-named sources I have finished and uploaded nursery photos. Most recently I put up some Classic Pooh wall-art and used a Cricut to cut out Pooh quotes for each character. I know they may be hard to see, so the Pooh quotes are:
On the top left: "In that enchanted place on the top of the forest a little boy and his bear will always be playing."
Pooh Quote: "Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again?"
Piglet Quote: "Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh?' he whispered. 'Yes, Piglet?' 'Nothing, I just wanted to be sure of you.'"
Tigger Quote: "Well, I gotta go. I got a lotta bouncin' to do. T-T-F-N: Ta-Ta-For-Now."
Eeyore Quote: "It's not much of a tail, but I'm sorta attached to it."
Everything is now just waiting for BBC to make his/her arrival.

Unconventional Baby Shower

On Saturday night my good friend Tara here in Oklahoma invited Ben and I over for dinner with her family as well as our friend Carla and her family. The evening was planned as an unconventional couple's baby shower. Ben was a little hesitant at first - "What do we do exactly?" but we all ended up having an amazing time! The funniest part was that the boys were the ones who had to play the first games, and it was pretty darn entertaining...we captured the "boys" games on video and have some pictures of the rest of the night...

Pooh Painting

This weekend I was lucky enough to have my very good friend Andrea come out from DC to see Ben and I as well as Baby Bump Culver. Andrea has been one of my dearest friends for a long time and it was so special to have her come out.

Andrea has always been a great artist and enjoys doing watercolors. She painted two small paintings for Ben and I that she gave us when we got married that hang in our bedroom. When she came this weekend she also came with one more Andrea Joseph original. Andrea painted this Pooh painting for Baby Culver's nursery. It is so beautiful! The funny thing about the painting is that when we were looking for a place to put it Andrea started to laugh and pointed down at the rug that Lorna gave us for our Shower in a Box - the image is the same! So, this painting really is a perfect match for the nursery!

Shower in a Box...Day 25

Today is officially our final day of Shower in a Box! This has been such an amazing gift from not only my Mom, but all of our amazing friends and family as well! I will be sure to keep not only all the cards and notes that we have received for Baby Culver through this adventure - but also the numbered "advent" box that Mom created. It truly has been amazing to be "showered" with everyone's love!

Today's present begins from a funny little obsession I have had for many years now. Any of my close friends/family could tell you that from a very young age I have been a big fan (ok, HUGE fan) of Disney. I blame Mom and Dad - who began to take me and Jim to Disneyland when I was about 4. I think that those of us who have grown up with Disney have one (or two) favorite characters that they relate to. For me, it has always been Merryweather (the blue fairy from Sleeping Beauty) and Eyeore. I am not entirely sure why Eyeore has struck a cord with me, but I am sure my mom would say it has something to do with my demeanor in the mornings, personally I think Eyeore and I get a bad rap! Anyway, today's final gift came from Aunt Terri, Uncle Tim, Taylor, and Abby and included the following message in the numbered box: "Dear Baby Culver, This will be something you have to fight your mama to keep. It isn't an indication of what we think your personality will be; just a fun part of your mama's history passing to you." Today Baby Culver received this large stuffed Eyeore straight from Disneyland (as you can see from the tag on his ear). He is about the softest stuffed animal I have ever seen, and I am sure that Baby Culver will love him - even if he is a little cranky sometimes (you would be too if your tail always fell off)!

Shower in a Box...Day 24

Ahhh, my intellectual friends! Today's Shower in a Box gift arrived from my friend Celeste. Celeste and I were roommates all through undergraduate school and I will say that her and Kim's dedication to their studies probably improved my grades substantially too - it is hard to justify watching The Real World/Road Rules Challenge when your roommates are studying chemistry! Therefore, it is only fitting that Celeste would send Baby Culver a selection of books for his/her intellectual growth! Celeste sent two Pooh books, Where the Wild Things Are, a collection of Mother Goose stories, The Cat in the Hat, and Butterfly Kisses. I can see Baby Culver's brain growing already!