Baby Wells has arrived!

On September 1 at 4:14 p.m., Max and I welcomed our precious baby boy, Richard Maxwell Jodry, Jr. He came out looking the spitting image of Max and thus his name. But, we are calling him Wells!

Baby Wells weighed 6 pounds and 8 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long.

Here is how it all went:

We arrived to the hospital on August 31 and checked in at 6 p.m. They worked on my blood levels and started the Cervadill to get us ready for delivery. We had a decent night sleep, as good as you can when you are anticipating meeting your sweet baby the next day!

At 6:30 a.m. on September 1, the nurses came in and started our petocin drip! That got things kind of moving, but not as quick as my OB would have liked. She came in around 9 a.m. and broke my water. That was the worst pain I felt the whole day. It was worse than any contractions I had. When you are on 1.5 cm dialated and they brake your water, it does not feel great. But, Dr. Wiley was right that it would get things moving - and boy did it.

Right away, my contractions picked up and got stronger and stronger. At about 11 a.m. the nurse came and in and gave me some pain meds to take the edge off the contractions. That worked for a bit until they could give me the epidural. Once I got the epidural, life was good. That is the most amazing feeling to not feel all of that and rest comfortably.

I got my epidural around noon and progressed very quickly from there. In 1.5 hours I went from 3 cm to fully complete and dialted - ready to push. At about 1:45 p.m. I started pushing and pushed for about 2.5 hours until baby Wells arrived!

Below I have shared some pictures from the whole process! I had the most amazing team of nurses and my doctor, Dr. Wiley, is the most amazing physician I have ever had! She is so talented and has the best bedside manner. The care we received at Texas Health Fort Worth was the best we could have asked for. Precious and talented nurses and a great doc! So thankful to all who were a part of bringing our baby into this world!

As for the blood clot, it was not a huge issue during delivery. Thank you all for your prayers. We have struggled to get my blood levels normal post delivery, but are working on it!

Here are a few pictures for you to share in the joy of the moment of bringing Wells into the world:

Archer waiting patiently in Wells' stroller wondering when he was going to have his brother home!
Contractons heating up!

My precious husband waiting patiently for Baby Whax to arrive!

The only belly shot you will get! Remembering what it was like to have baby in my tummy!

1:45 - the moment the nurse told me we were ready to push!

The first moment I saw our precious little one and got to hold him! What an emotional moment! I will never forget the first time I got to hold this amazing miracle!

Proud daddy! Our wonderful nurse caught this shot of Max!

I love this picture!

First pic of proud daddy holding his son!!!

This is a love you cannot describe - the first moment that precious one looks into your eyes!

Wells meeting his Dolly!

Wells meeting his Uncle Al!

Wells meeting his Dutch!

Our first bath - and let me tell you - he was not a fan!

Our hearing test - passed with flying colors

Such a sweet daddy and such a good daddy!

My sweet aunt Ainslee was there and was such a big help!

Sweet angel!

Perfect in every way!

Wells is as big as his froggy!

We did not quite fit in our car seat - too little!

First time the puppies met Wells! Ava was not a fan at first and Archer loved him!

Tuckered out and our first nap at home!

Finally - Ava decided he was not too bad and I caught her doing this!

Praise God for such a precious, healthy baby boy! More posts to come! Got to run feed him now!

The Nursery Reveal

Finally, I have pictures of the nursery. I am still missing one curtain panel that should be back tomorrow, but you get the picture of what they will look like. The nursery was designed around the owl rug you see on the wall. I had an absolute ball putting this room together and sure hope baby Whax loves it. There is lots for him to see!

This is the view as you look at the whole room from the door. The rug looks like tree bark, the table in the corner is made out of twigs and the rocker is the most comfortable chair I have ever been in.
This picture is a view from the opposite corner from the one above. You can see the twig chandelier in this too.

This view looks at the crib and the tree over the crib from the door. My mom and I made the tree one weekend. It is made of real tree limbs, twig twine and the leaves are made from scrapbook paper double-sided and all different sizes and colors.

This is the changing table. I can't wait to get some photos in the picture frames on the wall!

This picture you can see the rug and the precious pillow in our rocker. Our graphic designer who works with us at the hospital, Meg Benkel, made this pillow for baby Whax and I absolutely love it!

The picture above is a better picture of the tree.

Finally, the picture above is a better look at the baby's bedding. Now all we need is baby Whax!

On another note, I went to the doctor and am making some progress. I am dilated to a 1 and 50 percent effaced. Now, we just need to pray that that progress does not continue too quickly so that I can get off these blood thinners in time to deliver with an epidural!

The plan is for me to go in next Tuesday night at 6 p.m. and start the induction process and stabilizing my blood levels. At 7 a.m. on Sept. 1, the nurses will begin the petocin, with hopes to have a baby by evening.

Max and I plan on spending some good quality time together this weekend - our last ever as a family of 2 and 2 puppies.

Anxiety and the Waiting Game!

We have a date, we are finished with the nursery and just waiting! Man, I hate to wait! Our little boy will be on his way in about a week, and I am telling you that I hate the waiting part of this! I can't wait to meet him and I also can't wait to have the delivery behind me!

Anxiety has been a normal feeling for me the past few weeks. We have had so many opinions about our care and the delivery process and I find myself just ready to tackle this giant! My sweet husband kindly reminded me today that worry and fear of the unknown is only sent from one place - not the Lord! He has been such a calming source of encouragement these past few weeks as I have really wrestled with feelings of worry and angst! Today, Max just told me that we have done all we can to prepare, have surrounded ourselves with the best doctors (which we have :)) and at this point the only thing that we can do is lay all of our unrest at the Lord's feet! Praise the Lord for such a precious and Godly husband!

So, as we prepare for our little one (who still does not have a name yet), I would ask that you all pray with us that the Lord would provide peace! I have 100 million things that still need to be done at work before I can be off for 12 weeks and I just really need calm and peace!

We see our amazing doctor tomorrow and will hopefully have more of a plan about next Tuesday, which is when I go in to prepare for the induction process. Hope to get a post up about the nursery this week!

We have a date!!!

We will be induced on September 1 with hopes that baby Whax will make his arrival that day. I will actually go in the night of the 31st to get some tests run and work-ups before induction! Max and I are so relieved after our appointment yesterday. Dr. Wiley put all of our fears in check, listened to our concerns and did her research so she could provide solutions. We will be able to get an epidural as long as I don't spontaneously labor before the 1st! Praise the Lord for this news!

Let the nesting begin as we prepare for baby Whax! And, will hopefully have pictures to come soon!

Happy Thursday!

Birthday Boy!

No, not the baby! But, my incredible husband celebrated another year of life yesterday! I want to take this moment to say how blessed I am to have such an amazing husband, partner and friend in life! Max, you are God's absolute best for me in every way! I can't wait to become parents together and embark on this new journey with you! Happy Birthday! May this be the best year ever! I love you!

Epidural or no epidural - that is the question?

Ok - not by choice! I am writing pleading for your prayers and good thoughts. Last Thursday, I went to see the high-risk doctor and he informed me that he did not think I was a candidate for an epidural since I have had to be on so many blood thinners. So, his recommendation - natural child birth and no epidural! For those of you who know me, this is funny! I do not do pain! I have not prepared myself to do natural childbirth nor do I want to prepare myself for this.

So, after much research this weekend with several anesthesiologists and some more questioning today, I have decided to punt to my OB and see what she can figure out as an alternative! And... we wait.

I see my OB on Wednesday and she said she would look into it for us. I just ask for your prayers that there is some alternative to natural childbirth. If there is not, we will need all the prayers we can get for me and really Max to get through natural childbirth. Ouch - can't think of anything worse!

We see the doc on Wednesday and hopefully we will have an induction date and an answer on the epidural by then. Until then...prayers please!!! :)

Heat=No Bueno and the Fly-In

Random, I know! But, have two things I want to share with you. First, the heat in Texas is not conducive to a comfortable summer while being pregnant. I have never had cankles before and let me tell you - the heat has made these puppies swell up! PRETTY!!! Can't wait for Fall and for the baby to be here! Sorry friends, no pictures until baby comes!

Also, my sister sent me the link from the photographer who took pictures at Jake's fly-in. I am posting the link for you to see! What amazing work! What warms my heart about these pictures is the expression on McCall's face when seeing her daddy! Hope you enjoy!

http://www.beauwomblephotographyplog.com/?p=785