It's a Girl! Welcome Harper Avery Scott

Today is the day that our surprise baby entered the world and our lives! I arrived at the hospital at 6am as scheduled for my induction. I was escorted to my suite, room 3! I had the nurse take the last pregnancy picture of me before I changed into the hospital gown. It was sad that it was going to be my last one! Pat was my nurse when I arrived and then at 7am Barbara walked in and she would be with me the whole day. She had over 30 years nursing experience so I was glad to have her. They started the petocin and then I waited. Ben arrived around 9am after he dropped Mason off at school. At 10am Barbara checked me to see how things were progressing. I was 70% effaced and nearly 3 cm dilated. I wasn't sure how long it would take this time, but I was happy with that number. I was handling the contractions quite well until noon came. Dr. Holley came in and broke my water. Well, 10 seconds later and the next contraction....I was officially in pain. I can tolerate a lot, but let me tell you it was not tolerable! I was at 4cm and 80% effaced at that point. I asked for the epidural and 30 min. later I was relieved. I was then around 6 cm. I had two very intense contractions and the baby moved down fast! Barbara checked me again at 1:40pm and to my surprise I was 100% effaced and 10 cm........I was ready to go! She called the Dr. and she ran over to my room. I said "what is all the rushing for?" and Barbara instructed me not to push because the baby was about to fall out. I didn't know because I couldn't feel my legs. LOL! I said omg, that's great! I started pushing a few min. before 2pm. After the 3rd push Harper was born! As soon as Harper's head was out she was screaming/crying. Her lungs worked great! I had no tearing and labor was a breeze! I was so excited that I forgot to even ask what the sex was and right then Barbara said "It's a girl!" I was so happy and shocked all at the same time. She was just perfect and so tiny! Ben and I just looked at each other in disbelief. I can't believe I now have a little girl. I would finally be able to buy pink! After she came out they laid her on my chest. I was so eager to see who she looked like. They took her away after a couple of minutes to get her cleaned up. One of the nurses was concerned about her wheezing a little. After 12 hours and lots of blood tests and observation, the fluid had cleared out of her lungs and she was fine.

Stats:
Weight ~ 6 lbs, 10 oz.
Height ~ 19 inches
Head ~ 13"

After a couple of hours I was moved to the recovery room - 3111. I remember seeing a few other rooms near me and they all had girls. Everyone had a pink bow on the door. Later that evening Harper received her Hep B shot and hearing test which she passed with flying colors. Her big brother Mason came to visit after school. I couldn't wait for him to meet his little sister. He walked over and touched her and later held her and gave her a kiss. It was so sweet. After Ben took Mason home, I tried to get some well needed rest, but first I had to stare at my new baby girl. We are so excited to finally have you here.

39 Weeks

Well, the time has officially come! After my Dr. visit this morning, she told me that it would be a good idea to get the baby out, so we scheduled the induction for Thursday, 24th at 6am. Since 2/10 the baby only had gained 3 oz. and my tummy measurement has not changed either the past 3 visits or my weight gain. I'm still measuring at 34 across the belly and 137 lbs. They estimate the weight of the baby at about 6 lbs 3 oz. The good news is that from last week to this week my body has progressed very well otherwise. I'm at 3 cm and almost completely thinned out. Sweets is still very active moving around in there all the time. I started getting some lower cramping feeling late Sunday afternoon so I knew something was going on then again the next day for about 5-10 min each time. One thing that is funny about this pregnancy is that my left leg goes numb every now and then depending on the baby's position and when I was pregnant with Mason, it was the exact same thing, but my right leg. Baby girl or boy Scott will be here soon!

Stay tuned for the results!

On another note, my little man has been excellent this past week with potty training. In one week (started on Valentine's day...nice gift for mom) he managed to be nearly 100% trained. It's unbelievable how quickly he caught on and how well he is doing. So proud of him. His new school has been great too helping with his progress. He won't even let me dress him anymore. He is a big boy now just like Daddy. He even asked me to buy him a belt for his jeans like Daddy. I can't wait to see his reaction to his new brother or sister. He is currently into Batman and Spiderman. It's a toss up to see which one he will choose for Halloween this year.

Sweets Update - 38 weeks

On Tuesday I had my weekly OB checkup and I am still measuring 34 which was the same as the previous week. That means next Tuesday they will do another growth sono to see how much bigger the baby has gotten since last time. 70% effaced; cervix thinning, 137 lbs, and the baby has dropped........we are almost there!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Mason had a great day at school and after a weekend of potty training at home again, he went pee pee on the potty when he woke up this morning and again when we got home. The best part was he came to me this afternoon (several times) and said "Mommy I have to go potty." I think we may have a breakthrough. Twice in one day is the best gift! I'll cross my fingers and hope this streak continues. He's doing such a great job.

Today Mason enjoyed a school party and the weather was fantastic so his class played outside most of the day. When I dropped him off this morning a little girl on the playground said "what's in your belly?" I thought it was very cute. When I went to pick him up he had some goodie bags to bring home and a handmade card and flower for Mommy and Daddy. So sweet. He even had special valentine's from his classmates with some chocolate kisses and sweetheart candies, the ones with the words written on them. I used them today for the potty reward. No surprise, but a big hit! Daddy also came home and brought me Valentine's Day cards.

Update on the illness saga.......just after we found out he had pink eye on Sunday 5 days later, this past Friday, I had to take him to the Dr. because he was just not himself. The verdict was in... he had his first ear infection. Poor kid. He got some more antibiotics and started to feel better in a day. Hopefully he won't be sick again before the baby comes. I wouldn't want him to miss out on coming to the hospital to meet his new baby brother or sister.

On Thursday, I finally had my stitches removed and now it's just playing the waiting game. Two weeks to go until baby Scott arrives! Baby was estimated at a little over 6 lbs.

Still sick

Well, we had to take Mason to the Dr. today because he kept getting fevers on and off as well as a new symptom since Wed. evening........pink eye! Dr. also said he had the flu. Every time I think he gets better, the fever comes back. She confirmed the pink eye and now he has meds for that. This poor little guy can't catch a break. He fell asleep on the couch watching the Superbowl. What are the chances.......flu 2nd round in 3 weeks.

9 Months

Well, we made it to 9 months. There is still plenty to do to get prepared for our little arrival. I have a Dr. appt. on Tuesday and the Dr. will make a decision on when to deliver. He/She will be here before we know it!

Still under the weather...

Mason still isn't feeling very well and just wants to hang out with Daddy. After all, Daddy will make everything better, right? He smiled for a couple of pics and then wasn't having it. They just look so cute on Daddy's lap I had to snap away. Make room for one more Daddy because Sweets will be here soon!

Austin Snow day

Well, can you believe it?! Austin got a little bit of snow. The schools and offices shutdown, it was crazy. At least Mason got to see snow, which he so missed on Christmas. He wasn't feeling very well since Wed. evening, but he seemed a little better.....enough to go outside to check out the snow. And Daddy got a free snow day and was home with us. Anything to make him smile. He has been stuck in the house for a couple of days.