Robert Francis & Robert Kelly

Today marks the loss of my father, Robert Francis, 4 years ago.  He was a wonderful man, and taught me so many things about life.  I miss being able to talk to him and hear his opinions and suggestions on how to handle different situations.  He was my biggest cheerleader.  We used to talk about what life would be like when I had children.  As a child of divorced parents, my dad had to drive me back and forth to my mother's house.  There were fields of grapes, and every time we drove by them when they were ripe, he would roll down the windows and we would smell the grapes.  He would always say, when you have a children and you smell the grapes, it will remind you that you need to, "go call grandpa".  I wish I had the chance to call him and have him meet my son.  I know he is smiling down on us each day and would be so proud to be a grandpa. 

As I think about him today, I get to hold the new Robert in my life, my son, Robert Kelly. I pray that he has a love for life, strong work-ethic, and strong personality like his grandfather, for whom he is named after.  And that he is always protected by his guardian angel, Robert Francis.  

Growing Boy

I have a growing boy on my hands!  :)  He loves to eat!!  Ryan says that he's just like his parents when it comes to food.  Robert was born 9 pounds 3 oz but left the hospital at 8 pounds 11 oz.  Today at his two week check up, he weighed in at 9 pounds 15 oz.  He has gained back all the weight he dropped initially after birth plus some!  I had a feeling he wasn't going to have a problem gaining weight, because the boy is always eating!!  Here's to my boy continuing to grow big and strong!

Robert Kelly Gibbs

My son is a week old today!  The love I have for this little man is over flowing.  With each passing day, I feel myself falling more in love with him as well as my husband.  I'm blown away with the thought that I (we) created him.  He is half me...CRAZY!

Anyways, here is the story of Robert's birth.  On Friday, March 8, Ryan and I went to the hospital at 11pm for my induction.  By the time we got all the paperwork done and they hooked me up to the IVs it was 1:15am on the 9th when they started the Pitocin.  I was started with 2mm in my IV drip.  Not sure what the mm is for, then every 30 minutes it was increased by 2mm.  The max amount you can have of Pit is 32mm.  Well, I got to 28mm and didn't really feel a thing so my doctor decided to take me off the IVs so I could eat and walk around for an hour.  After the hour we would try something new.  During that hour, Ryan and I went to the cafe where I got some fruit, a smoothie, and some trail mix.  I wasn't really wanting to eat anything but knew I needed to have some calories for the work I had ahead of me.

At 11:55 we started our second attempt at getting him to come out, and for this they gelled my cervix.  Within a couple of minutes I was feeling contractions but was forced to lay down for an hour in order to ensure it would continue to work.  So at 12:55 I was up and ready to walk around.  Ryan and I walked the halls and moved around our room for 2 hours.  I was thinking for sure we were making progress, however when I was check I had only progressed 1/2 cm.  I was now at 4cm and 80% effaced.  Due to this, the doctor decided to put me back on Pit.  Once again I was started at 2mm in my IV drip.  At around 5pm my doctor came in and we discussed breaking my water.  I was very nervous and wasn't sure that I wanted to do this but also knew that something needed to be done.  Ryan helped me make this decision and we went ahead and broke his water sac.  Once this happened, things progressed VERY quickly!!  Not only was my water broken but I was still on Pit so I couldn't really move around and my contractions were something I have never felt before.  I had such a hard time catching my breath and staying focused because the pain was so intense.  My goal was to go natural with no epidural, however my pain became to much for me to handle so I got an epidural.  This helped me calm down but it didn't take all the pain away.  I still had back labor and could feel my legs, unlike many women who tell me they have lost complete feeling.  After breaking my water I progressed to 8cm in about an hour and half.  During that time was when I got the epidural.  From approximately 8:00pm to 3:00am Sunday morning, I was in transition.  During this time I would try to sleep because I couldn't get out of the bed due to the epidural.  At three they had me sit up in the bed to help move his head down to station 3 in order to reduce the pushing time.  Finally at 4:00am I felt so much pressure, and wanted to push.  I pushed with my nurse Kristin (she was amazing!!  reminded me of my best friend kristin) from 4-6, at 6 the doctor came in.  During all this pushing I would feel powerful and then the next minute I would just want them to get him out any way possible.

Ryan was wonderful, he held one of my legs during the whole experience and wiped  my head with a cool cloth between contractions.  When I would look at him he would try to smile but I could see it in his eyes that he felt helpless.  The love I have for that man seemed to grow by 100% that morning.  Anyways, the baby's head slowly emerged and then finally he was born.  I felt such relief and peace when they placed him into my arms.  I remember looking at my husband with the tears flowing down his face and just smiling at each other.  Robert had to be taken away quickly because he had had his first BM in utero or during delivery (Im not sure which one) and they needed to get it all sucked out so he would cry.  Once he was crying, he was placed back onto my chest.

Robert was then taken awhile later for all his measurements.  He ended up weighing 9 pounds 3 ounces and was 22 inches long.  My big, little man!  :)  The nurses said, do you have a name yet, I just looked at Ryan and said I think we should go with Robert.  He is stubborn and wants thing done on his schedule just like his grandpa.  So our son is named after his two grandpas.  Robert was my fathers name.  A wonderful man that taught me what it means to love, be a parent, work hard, and dream big.  Kelly is Ryan's dad.  Another wonderful man that shaped my husband into the strong, caring, smart, and funny man he is today.  I can only hope that many of the traits of his grandpas will be present in his life.

I thought I was ready for the feelings I would have for him, but there truly is no greater love you have for your child!  I love you Baby Robert!  

First Post as a MOMMY!

It's hard to believe that my baby will be a week old tomorrow morning!  This weeks seems to have flown by and I feel as if I'm in a daze.  We spent the first part of the week in the hospital because I had high BP after delivery (according to my blood work), then we enjoyed some down time getting settled in, went to Robert's first doctor appointment, took newborn pictures, and spent some quality time as a family in our backyard enjoying the beautiful weather.

One of the biggest highlights of this week, is the use of our cloth diapers.  I was so in love with how cute they look, and now I am even more in love with how easy they are and how comfy they seem to be for my baby.  Robert is so content in them.  I did my first load of diapers yesterday and plan to do a load every other day.  I could probably wait till every three days but I'm going to to try to get on a routine and only go every three days when needed.   

I have a few more topics that I will post about separately - Robert Kelly's Birth, Newborn Pictures, and Life as a Mommy posts are still to come.  Hopefully tomorrow...

Tonight

It's Friday and he is still in there!  Tonight Ryan and I will go to the hospital and I will be induced.  Baby Gibbs will be here sometime this weekend!  :)  That is the one thought that is keeping me going right now.  Other than that, I'm not feeling the best.  I have a horrible cold and I am feeling a bit sad that he hasn't made his appearance on his own.  I also know that I don't want to wait any long.

Please send prayers our way this weekend as we step into our next adventure together and welcome a very special baby into the world!

If Needed...

If Baby Gibbs decides he loves being in there to much, and Friday arrives I will be induced.  We're scheduled to go into the hospital Friday at 11:00 pm.  This would lead me to believe we would have a baby in our arms sometime on Saturday.

Hopefully that this appointment will not be needed!

Mommy By The Weekend

I will be a mommy by the weekend!  :)  Such a wonderful and scary statement all in one. I went in today for my final check up, and once again baby was doing great.  She said that baby was moving down the pelvis nicely and I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced.  If he doesn't come by Friday (42 weeks) I will be induced.  So no matter what, I will be a mommy by the weekend!

I pray every night that he comes before Friday and would appreciate all your prayers as well!  

walking, walking, and more walking

Ryan and I have done LOTS of walking this past weekend.  We've walked two times each day, for a total of 4-6 miles each day!!  :)  You would think that this would make baby want to come out, but all it is doing is making me more tired!  Bear has been enjoying the walks as well, but he is also tired.  Poor little guy just wanted to sleep all day today.

Since I told the hospital I wasn't coming in to be induced last night, my doctor called today and wanted me to come in for some more tests.  We were there for 2 hours, and once again, they both showed that he is doing well.  During the NST (non-stress test) it showed I was having contractions about every five minutes.  They aren't hurting me but I do feel tightness sometimes.  Fingers crossed for Baby Gibbs to come sooner rather than later.

41 Weeks

Friday was 41 weeks, and we had an ultra sound to make sure Baby Gibbs was doing good.  We were pleased with all the results.  Fluid levels are good, placenta is positioned in a nice location and is healthy, cord fluids sounded good, and most importantly baby looked perfect.  :)  His heart rate was 135 and he was doing lots of breathing practicing!  We were also pleased to find out that he is in the 95 percentile for his size!  (Ryan says he knows that he needs to get a scholarship for college.)  His head was pretty far down, so she had a difficult time getting a good head measurement.  I'm hoping that means he will be here soon!  The tech predicts his weight to be 9lbs 3oz.  My big boy!  I'm amazed that my body is holding a baby that big.  I know that these can be off give or take a pound.  (If the tech is correct, he will be taking after his daddy.  Ryan was 9.11!)

I'm so excited to meet him and can't wait to kiss his chubby cheeks!

Today is 9 days past EDD.  Ryan was 9 days past his EDD and I was 12 days past mine.  So our little man is already taking after us.  :)

Any bets on when he will arrive??