Carson's First Christmas

Happy baby!

Some of the great grandkids with their Mawmaw...Lexi, Slayte, Eden, Cash, Amanda, Addy, and Carson. (Missing are Isabella, Abby, Aubrey, Taylor, and Anna.)

His first time meeting Santa!

Turkey Day

Geaux Tigers!

Carson in his first LSU outfit....

He was pretty upset about the results of the game....he peed all over his outfit shortly after!

Carson's First Bath

We gave Carson his first bath on Saturday, November 21! Did he enjoy it? Not so much!

Carson Michael

Carson Michael Smith was born on November 11, 2009 at 2:34 am. He weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.

My water broke at 5 pm on November 10 just as Britt got home from work. (Thank goodness!) When I arrived at the hospital, I was started on Pitocin, because the doctor wanted me to deliver as soon as possible due to my blood pressure. Unfortunately, my doctor was out with the flu, so a different doctor delivered him. I was disappointed, because my doctor and I had been through all my issues during pregnancy, but it turned out just fine! I dialated quickly, and got my epidural. I had to push for about 2.5 hours, and finally Carson was born! He was born at 36 weeks and 5 days, but thankfully he was healthy!

A little update...

I'm 35.5 weeks now, and I went to the doctor today. My blood pressure is staying pretty low. Well, not low, but low enough that I can stay at home on bedrest. I'm dialated to about 3 cm, and today my doctor said she would be ok with me going into labor on my own. I had an ultrasound today, and we could see him breathing really well on the ultrasound. They estimated that he weighs about 7 lbs now. My doctor said if I don't go into labor in the next week and a half that she will induce me at 37 weeks. I guess she wants to get this baby out before I develop any more problems! Oh, and the good news is that I may not have to have a csection after all. The bad thing about that is that she may induce me, and I could still end up with a csection, but whatever happens, happens! I'm excited and nervous, but I can't wait to hold him and see his face! I feel like my pregnancy has flown by! My next appointment is Thursday at 2, so I'll keep you updated!

Baby Shower & Nursery

My shower was great! There were so many people there, and I had so many gifts! Sorry if I didn't get to visit with any of you much! I literally spent the entire time opening gifts! We got almost everything we needed! I just wanted to upload a few of the pics...I know most of you can see them on Facebook.

The nursery is pretty much finished. I just have to go one day and get a few extra things.

Cami wanted to be in a pic.... Do you see her?

My doctor's appointment on Monday went ok. My blood pressure was high, but it went down some after they had me lay down. I did have an ultrasound, and the ultrasound tech was the worst ever! I will never let that woman give me an ultrasound again! She kept hitting my stomach with the little wand trying to get him to move, and it hurt really bad. I was there by myself, and it was SO awful! My next appointment is tomorrow at 2:30, and Britt is coming with me! Cross your fingers it goes well, because I do not want to be on hospital bedrest! I'll be 35 weeks on Friday, so I need to be pregnant for at least 2 more weeks to be "full term." Wow...that's crazy to think I'm going to have a baby in two or three weeks!

Also, the painting above the crib was done by my mother in law. She does take custom orders if you are interested, and she also paints fleur de lis. Of course, it will cost you! It's free for me! =)

Labor and Delivery Visit #2

I had an ultrasound to start my appointment yesterday. They were checking to make sure I had enough amniotic fluid. It was actually really neat, because the ultrasound tech turned the 4d on, and we saw Carson grabbing his foot with his hands. It was really neat! That was about the only good thing about my appointment....oh, and I weighed 3 pounds less than I was on Monday. That's always good!

Next, my doctor's nurse took my blood pressure, and it was 130/90, so I knew things weren't looking too promising. My doctor came in and had me lay on my left side to see if my blood pressure would go down. When they took it again it was 140/75...still not good. I'm also dialated 2 cm, and my doctor said we are just trying to make it to 37 weeks at this point. She said if I have him too early I can have him at WK South instead of Pierremont, since Pierremont doesn't have a NICU. Anyways, my doctor decided to admit me to Labor and Delivery again to monitor the baby and have some more tests run. If my tests didn't come back good, she said I would be on hospital bedrest.

The testing part was awful. The person who took my blood had to stick me twice, and they ended up having to take it out of my hand. If you know me, you know my biggest fear in life is needles! Thank goodness Britt was there to hold my hand! After that I sent him to get me some Cane's! I was also dehydrated, which was making me have some pretty big contractions, so they made me drink a ton of water! I drank two big glasses before I went to the doctor and apple juice, so I don't know how I was dehydrated. Anyways, thank goodness my tests came back good, and they let me come home!

My shower is tomorrow, so I'm excited about that! My next doctor's appointment is at 10:45 on Monday. Maybe it will go good....

Another exciting day at the doctor...

Yesterday I had an appointment at 1:45, but I had to go to the lab before my appointment to get blood work done. After I got my blood work I went up to my appointment. They gave me a Non-Stress Test. They put a monitor on my stomach that measured the baby's movement in relation to his heart rate. They nurse practitioner said it looked great. My blood pressure was also really low, so I thought I was good to go. Then, she said she was going to call down to the lab to check my results. Well, she came back and said that my liver enzymes were too high, and I have a UTI. This means that my liver isn't funtioning correctly and possibly my kidneys, and these are both signs of pre-eclampsia (or toxemia as some people know it). Also, UTI's are dangerous during pregnancy, because they can spread to the uterus and cause preterm labor. They also cause contractions sometimes. The nurse practitioner consulted with another doctor at the practice I go to, because my doctor was off for the day. They decided I should be admitted to Labor and Delivery. In Labor and Delivery they hooked me up to blood pressure monitors, heart rate monitors, and a monitor for contractions. They then took my blood again. My liver enzymes were still slightly elevated, but since my blood pressure seemed to be stable, they sent me home...thank goodness! I was having small contractions, though! The funny thing was whenever I got discharged they sent a girl in with a wheelchair, and she asked me if my family knew where to pick me up. I told her I drove to the hospital myself! She looked kind of surprised! I mean obviously they weren't going to wheel me to my car out in the parking lot, so I got Britt to go get my car. I was at the hospital from about 12:15-6:15...not what I expected! Thankfully Mom and Britt came up there to keep me company! My next appointment is Thursday at 1:30. I will be getting an ultrasound and seeing my doctor. Please pray that everything goes ok. It seems like every time I go to the doctor things get worse! I cannot miss my baby shower on Saturday! I have been looking forward to it for my whole life!

I really didn't think this was going to happen...

My appointment that was originally schedule for tomorrow got moved to today earlier this week. I had an ultrasound when I got there. I got another 4d pic of Carson's face! I will try to post it later when I'm not so tired! He still looks like Britt, and he is still a boy (thank goodness)! The ultrasound tech said he is measuring at 36 weeks, and he weighs approximately 6 lbs! I am 33 weeks, so he is still measuring about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. My doctor said is is in the 97th percentile, which means that he is bigger than 97% of babies at this stage. I guess Britt's wish of having a NFL player in the future might work out for him! If I have him at full term, he is expected to be at least 9 lbs. The only thing I'm really bummed about is that my doctor said today that I will probably be having a csection, and from the look on her face, probably seemed more like a definitely...

Anyways, on to the good stuff, or the bad stuff, however you want to look at it...

Whenever the nurse took my blood pressure it was 140/73, which is high for me. My blood pressure is usually in the 120's/60's. She also noted that my feet are super swollen! They are actually so swollen that I can only wear flip flops, so I'm not the most fashionable person these days! Anyways, I didn't think anything would come of my high blood pressure, so I just sat there scanning over my list of questions while I was waiting for the doctor. Most of my questions became obsolete once she delivered the news. I had planned on talking to her about my "birth plans," which included getting an epidural (a given with a csection), having Britt cut the umbilical cord (not allowed during csections), and I was going to ask her what to do about my swelling and pain while working (not necessary anymore). She took my blood pressure for a second time, and she said it was still high. She asked me what kind of work I did, and I told her I teach 10th grade and that my blood pressure is probably high due to work, which has been extremely stressful over the past couple of weeks (I won't get into that).

Long story short, or not so short, she put me on bedrest until I have Carson. I asked her exactly what she meant by bedrest, and she said I can only shower, go to the bathroom, and come to her office. I now have to visit her office TWICE a WEEK...Mondays and Thursdays. This coming Monday I will be having what is called a Non Stress Test to make sure Carson is ok and make sure my placenta is still doing what it is supposed to do. Then on Thursday I believe she said I will be having another ultrasound.

I will be going to my baby shower next weekend! I wouldn't miss that for anything! Bedrest is somewhat of a relief for me, because I have been under an immense amount of stress, and honestly my body aches pretty badly. I feel like someone beat me up! It also brings some new stress though. For one thing, I have to call my boss tomorrow and break the news. I'm sure they will be thrilled. (That's me being sarcastic!) I also have to spend the weekend making lesson plans for my sub, and I have to go up to school and get my personal belongings since I will be gone from there until at least mid-January. I thought I had weeks left to prepare!!! I'm also the kind of person that has a really hard time sitting at home. If I'm here for more than about a day, I get stir crazy! I also feel guilty for leaving my students. I didn't get to say goodbye! Believe it or not, you do get attached to some of them! Oh, and speaking of weeks, I did ask my doctor if I should plan on him being here early, and she said it is a possibility. The problem with high blood pressure is that I might be in the early stages of pre-eclampsia, and she said the only cure for that is delivering the baby, which is the whole reason I'm on bedrest...to keep my blood pressure down and to keep him in there as long as we can. He needs to stay in there 6-7 more weeks!

I guess I'll update on Monday after my appointment. I promise I won't write so much next time!

Thursday's Appointment

I had an appointment at 3 on Thursday. I had to wait in the waiting room until 4:30 until I got called back! To add to that, I didn't even get to see my doctor, because she had to leave to deliver twins via c-section at another hospital. After waiting forever, I saw the nurse practitioner. She was so nice, and she wasn't rushed or in a hurry like my doctor often is. I got to ask her all my questions. I keep a list of questions saved on my phone, but I usually only get to ask maybe one when I see my doctor. The nurse practioner said that they are not going to change my due date due to the size of the baby, but it might mean that I have to have a csection. I'm not looking forward to that at all. I really didn't want to have a csection. I've never had surgery, broken a bone, and haven't even had stitches before, so major abdominal surgery really freaks me out!

My next appointment is on October 16 at 8am, and it will include another ultrasound to see how much the baby has grown. I hope since my appointment is at 8 that my doctor will still be in the office, and maybe she won't be so rushed since I will be her first appointment that day.

On September 26, we took our hospital tour. Now we know where everything is. Labor and Delivery is on the 3rd floor, and then after I have him, we will be moved to the 6th floor. We also preregistered, so we don't have to stop and do any paperwork when I go to the hospital to have him. We also met with the pediatrician on Monday the 28th, and him and his staff seemed really nice, so we are definitely going to use him.

I don't have any pictures to post this time. I'm still looking at my ultrasound pictures everyday. I can't believe how much he looks like Britt! I finally got curtains for the nursery. I got them from Target for 7.99 a panel. What a deal! Pam had to hem them up, and Britt hung a new curtain rod. They look great! My shower is in 3 weeks, so after that I will really be able to finish everything up!

I'm 31 weeks now, and only 62 days until my due date!

Ultrasound

I had my 4D ultrasound today. It was really cool! He looks just like Britt did when he was a baby. We found out that he is measuring at 34 weeks....I'm only 30 weeks! We would have gotten way better pictures if I would have had this ultrasound a few weeks ago, because it does best when the baby is at 30 week size. Since he is so big, he is kinda squished in there now. The ultrasound tech said he already weighs about 5 lbs. I'm not sure what this means as far as when I will deliver. I go back on Thursday for my doctor's appointment, and I will talk to her then. The ultrasound tech said it's highly unlikely that I will be having a December baby. If we waited until December, he will about 10 lbs...yikes! I'll update you on Thursday.

29 Weeks...

Well, here's me at 29 weeks... December can't get here fast enough...

Nothing really exciting to report. I still have another week until my ultrasound. Oh, and on the same day I'm getting my ultrasound, I'm meeting with the potential pediatrician, Dr. Latiolais. A friend recommended him, he's open on weekends, and he's not as old as dirt like most of the other good pediatricians around here, so he seems like a good match for me!

Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday I had my doctor's appointment. I spent more time waiting to see the doctor than I actually spent with the doctor, which is something that really annoys me! She measures my belly, checks the heartbeat, and then she's outta there! I guess at least that means nothing is wrong, so I'm glad for that! They gave me a flu shot AND made me get my blood taken to test for anemia. They didn't warn me before hand that I was getting stuck two times in one day! I HATE needles! I guess I should be used to them by now, because this was like the 8th or 9th time since I've been pregnant that they've taken my blood, and I'm sure it won't be the last...My next appointment is on Sept. 28 for my ultrasound, and then my next appointment with the doctor is on October 1.

I got the cutest Stephen Joseph backpack at the craft show! I got it monogrammed, of course! Mom got him a bib and burp cloth, but I can't have it until my shower...and it's monogrammed, too!

I also ordered two really cute Christmas onesies the other day. I've been looking for Christmas clothes for him for a while now, and I finally found some 0-3 month onesies. Most of the Christmas stuff I've previously found online only comes in 6 months and up. Now I'm on the hunt for a stocking for him!

I think that was all I was going to say...I've been extremely forgetful lately! I can't believe in just 11 short weeks that we will get to meet Carson!

28 weeks

I'm now 28 weeks, so only 12 weeks to go! Unfortunately, I'm sick! I started feeling sick on Thursday, and it turned into full blown sickness by Friday. At least I go to the doctor on Tuesday. I hope it's just a cold and not the flu, but I've been feeling feverish, so....

Yesterday the stroller/carseat/base set came in! Yay! (Thanks mom!) She got it shipped to our house, and Britt had it put together before I got home from work. I LOVE IT! We also went to Target last night and bought a crib mattress. I just need to get some curtains now, but I didn't feel well enough to look while we were at Target last night. Now, I'll just be waiting for my shower in October to finish up everything. At least we have the big stuff...furniture, bedding, car seat, and stroller.

After MUCH debate we finally decided on a name last night......

Carson Michael

Narrowing it down....

So we've narrowed it down to two baby names....Hudson or Carson....now I just have to make up my mind! Britt's first choice is Hudson. I'm afraid of commitment, but hopefully I can make a decision soon...and stick with it! I feel like it shouldn't be taking me this long to choose a name!

So I decided to start a blog.....

Since the baby is coming soon, I thought a blog would be a good way to keep friends and family updated on everything...especially when it comes to pictures, which I'm sure will be abundant once our little boy gets here.

As for the pregnancy, I am now 27 weeks, which means we only have 13 weeks to go! My PUPPPS seems to be under control, and I pray everyday that it doesn't return. I passed the 3 hour glucose test last weekend to see if I had Gestational Diabetes, and amazingly that is one pregnancy ailment that I do not have. I'm starting to have what I think are Braxton Hicks contractions, and if they are any indicator of what the real thing will be like, I will be requesting an epidural as soon as I get to the hospital!

He still doesn't have a name, but we have four names sitting on the table. He will be Carson, Hudson, Landon, or Cole. All I know for certain is that his middle name will be Michael (after Britt). I hope to pick something by the end of the week, because my mom and I are going to the craft show on Sunday. I'm majorly into monogramming, and I'm dying to get stuff monogrammed.

I go to the doctor every two weeks now, and my next appointment is on September 15. Although we are really looking forward to our appointment on September 28 when we will get to see him via 4D ultrasound. We can't wait to see what he looks like! Our last ultrasound was at 22 weeks and looked like this....

Oh, and this is the bedding for those of you who haven't seen it....