Welcome to the World McKenna Grace Swanson!

McKenna Grace Swanson came into this big world on May 14, 2012 at 8:25pm weighing 5 lbs and 7 1/2 oz.  Her arrival was quite the surprise as she was 3 weeks and two days before her due date!  We ended up at Northside Hospital Mother's Day evening with a suspected slow amniotic fluid leak but we weren't sure.  Even the on call doctor wasn't sure and allowed me to make the decision to come into the hospital for testing.  We really thought the test would come back negative.  We were shocked when the nurse came back twenty minutes later and said it's positive so we're starting you on pitocin in the morning and you'll have your baby tomorrow.   Thankfully on the way out the door for the hospital, I remembered to grab our bags just in case.  We both just stared at each other for a few minutes when the nurse said the test came back positive.  I started having contractions that night after giving me some initial meds and by the morning I was having pretty intense contractions before the pitocin was started.  Right when they started the pitocin, I had a contraction that lasted 4 minutes and McKenna's heart rate dropped for a period of time.  The next thing we knew, four nurses were huddled around me shaking me from side to side, putting oxygen on me, and working to get her heart rate back up.  Thankfully she improved and we continued to labor for hours.  Because of the pitocin, I ended up having contractions, one of top of the other without any breaks, which is not natural.  They finally turned the pitocin down but only momentarily.  My OB, happened to be the doctor on call, so he ended up being the doctor that delivered McKenna.  About halfway through Monday, he told the nurses to keep increasing the pitocin.  Once I hit transition, I could no longer tolerate the contractions as I hadn't had a break in hours from them.  You would see them peak on the monitor and come down slightly and go right back up.  I finally gave in and begged for an epidural.  Deric did such a great job keeping me focused and really I was surprised that I could get through a contraction just using the rocking chair in the room until I wasn't getting a break.  Dr. Marcus told us earlier in the day that McKenna was already struggling to come down into the birth canal.  She seemed to be stuck trying to get through my pelvic bones.  After more than 24 hrs. of labor, being fully dilated, she still hadn't even made it into the birth canal.  I pushed for an hour and after that we decided a c section was the only way that she was coming out.  All went well with the cesarean delivery and we were thrilled to welcome our baby girl into the world Monday evening at 8:25pm.  She shares a birthday with her Auntie Tyler!  I've posted pictures we took of our beautiful girl when she arrived.  Enjoy!




McKenna showed what a strong girl she is right away!




So cute!





Showing her fiesty personality!





Meeting Mommy for the first time! 





Meeting Daddy!



Her first bath

Holding Daddy's hand:)

Being held by Mommy for the first time





Proud Grandaddy!

Enjoying Grandaddy's song and dance routine already



Cuddles with GranDavid



   

Meeting Grandma for the first time!



Showing off her take home outfit that swallowed her whole! 

Finally headed home!

 

First car ride



Friends and Family Baby Shower

What a wonderful last few weeks it's been!  Our family and friends have showered us with baby gifts as we prepare for the arrival of our little girl.  This past Saturday my sister Lauren, my dear friend Jessica, and dear friends from my church, Amy, Angela, Amanda, and Katie all threw the most wonderful baby shower.  Everything was perfectly coordinated to our owl nursery theme!  The food was delicious, the games were fun, and most importantly it was just a blessing to have all my sweet friends there that have been praying for us and our little miracle for quite some time.  Here just a few pics from the shower to show you how much fun we had.  Thank you everyone for making me feel so special and for taking such great care of our little girl.  She is going to love all the gifts and I can't wait for each of you to meet her when she arrives!



An up close of the beautiful owl diaper cake that Amanda Huyser made!

One set of beautiful and delicious owl cake pops that my sister worked hard to make!  Thank you Lauren!

The other set of owl cake pops that my sweet sister made!  They were a perfect and delicious party favor!

One of the beautifully decorated onesies that was made at the party.  I just loved this part of the shower!  Thank you all for wonderful handmade treasures that I'll have the privilege of dressing our little one in. 

We divided into two groups for the games so this is one group playing a baby shower version of musical chairs. 

This was my group playing musical chairs and as you can see there were only a few spots left.  All my friends were sweet and didn't want to leave the pregnant mama standing without a chair:)

Here's a nice action shot of everyone talking and eating all the yummy goodies!

Opening all the adorable gifts!

Everybody that came minus a few friends that had to leave early.  Thank you everyone for taking part of your Saturday to celebrate Baby Girl Swanson! It's a blessing to have each of you in my life!

Myself along with my sweet friends and sister that hosted the shower minus Angela who had to leave early.  Thank you all for throwing such a wonderful shower!!!

Family picture with my sister and Mom

Thank you Lauren and Jessica for all that you did to host the most wonderful shower.  I cherish you both!

This was taken at our house after the shower but I had just had to post it.  Deric didn't attend the shower but he did work hard to help get a few gifts there and while all the ladies were having fun, he met up with a few husbands of those at the shower and loaded/unloaded a reclining chair that we'll use in the nursery.  Thank you Matt and Katie for the chair and thank you to Jonathan for helping Deric and Matt get the chair to our house and in the nursery!  



Family Baby Shower

My sweet family threw a wonderful baby shower this past Saturday for us.  My Dad and sister went with me up to the "homeplace", the house where my Dad and his siblings grew up, for the shower.  It felt like old times driving up to Northeast Alabama like we've done so many times over the years for reunions.  It's such a blessing to have a big family to get together and visit with every year and this shower felt like a mini-reunion!  My Dad's sisters went all out and provided a yummy lunch for all of us as well as some beautiful flower arrangements and more than generous gifts!  I've posted a few pics below of the shower. 



What a wonderful picture of my Dad and his siblings.  From left to right, Uncle Arthur, Aunt Mary, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Orpah, Aunt Clara, Dad, Aunt Kathryn, and Aunt Clyda.  Thank you all for taking such great care of me and little baby girl Swanson!



Here's a great picture of everyone that came to the shower!  From left to right, Lauren, Uncle Arthur, Aunt Mary, me, Aunt Clara, Dad, Aunt Kathryn, Aunt Clyda, Alissa, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Orpah, and Teresa.  Thank you all for such a wonderful shower!

I'm showing off the money tree that my family gave us.  My family put together this money tree which is beyond generous and will certainly help Deric and I finish purchasing the big items we need for our baby girl.  Thank you so much for such a generous gift! 

My Aunt Clara and Aunt Kathryn bought our little one these wonderful books!  I cannot wait to read them to her!

My cousin Teresa is showing off the precious outfits that she bought for our little one along with a soft and sweet lamb blankie.  Thank you Teresa!!

Here's a pic of me and all the generous gifts from my family.  Thank you all so much for taking such great care of me and our little baby girl!

My Aunt Sarah and the beautiful flower arrangement that she made with flowers found around the homeplace.  Isn't she amazingly talented! 

The other flower arrangement that my Aunt Sarah made.  Beautiful!

31 1/2 weeks!

What a week it's been!  We started off the week with an OB appointment that went well.  I was a little nervous about telling my doctor that we have decided to go without an epidural for the delivery of our baby girl.  As always, God is so good.  Deric nor I had a peace about changing doctors or practices and in fact had a peace about staying put.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at my doctor's reaction being that Deric and I really felt God's leading to stay put but I was shocked.  I had taken my hypnobirthing book into my appointment because I normally sit and wait for awhile.  I ended up getting in and seeing the nurses within 20 minutes and before I knew it, Dr. Marcus was in talking with me so I hadn't even put the book away.  The next thing I know, he says "hypnobirthing huh".  I immediately thought oh great here it goes.  But Dr. Marcus said that when getting his Master's degree that he actually wrote a paper on self hypnosis and uses it himself when he goes to the dentist.  He said " I know that self hypnosis really works and I think that I might be able to help you". Now, mind you I have been skeptical all along about self hypnosis and really experiencing a pain free childbirth but with my music therapy training, I know the benefits of re-focusing the mind and we were taught some basic relaxation techniques.  To me the hypnobirthing premise is really just deep relaxation.  Regardless, I wasn't expecting my OB to be on board at all with us trying hypnobirthing.  I was pleasantly surprised with his reaction and so thankful that we can move forward feeling comfortable with our doctor and the practice we're in. 

The rest of the week ended up being pretty busy as unfortunately holiday weeks tend to be.  I was really looking forward to Easter and celebrating Jesus' resurrection!  I ended up coming down with yet another cold on Tuesday which made the week a bit more difficult.  I was asked to play in the Easter service on Sunday and in the Good Friday service which meant for two late nights at the church this week.  Being 8 months pregnant with a cold made me pretty exhausted with all the extras added into the week but I made it through everything.  Also, today I had to be at the church at 7:45am which meant leaving our house by 7:15.  Deric and I both got up at 5:30 took showers and the next thing I know, Deric is telling me that we have a serious problem.  The drain lines into our house backed up and we had water pouring into our garage this morning as well as our downstairs toilet overflowing.  Needless to say our Easter morning wasn't what we had expected.  We couldn't flush a toilet or turn water on without more drainage.  Deric had to stay home and find an emergency plumber while I headed to the church all by myself.  My Dad met me at church and enjoyed the service and Sunday school with me but unfortunately Deric was never able to get over to church.  Roto Rooter didn't show up until almost 11:00 am when the original window was 8 - 10.  So...Dad and I had Easter lunch without my hubby.  Poor Deric.  Thankfully, our pipes were unclogged but they think we have tree roots that have infiltrated the pipes so they are coming back with a camera tomorrow to really look down into the pipes. 

Despite our Easter not turning out quite like we had hoped, Deric and I did manage to take some Easter pics which have become a tradition.  Deric never even got a chance to put on his Easter best and I was wearing black and white orchestra attire so I changed and we decided to take some casual pics at the Roswell Mill.  We are still getting used to our new camera, a luxury point and shoot (?) not a SLR like we contemplated getting but I think it takes some really good pics.  Our Easter pics are below!

30 weeks!

Today marks 30 weeks with only 10 more to go!  I can't believe how big my belly is now.  I look like I swallowed a basketball or maybe even a large beach ball!  We're so excited and can't wait to meet our little girl.  I have my next OB appointment this coming Monday and will have appointments every two weeks instead of every 4 weeks now.  I just can't believe that we're in the home stretch.  Day by day walking gets more tiring and I'm definitely waddling now.  I really have to force myself to not waddle and when I'm carrying all my music therapy/music class stuff there's no hope for loosing the waddle!  Our baby girl is pretty calm throughout the day but in the afternoon, the evening, and even at 2am when I can't sleep, she is going to town.  I can now feel her kicks on the outside of my tummy and Deric was able to feel her really kick the other night.  Although her big kicks aren't comfortable, it's such a blessing to know that's she's growing stronger and stronger.  We are so thankful that God has given us this little bundle of joy!

29 weeks!

I'm home today not feeling so great so I thought I'd take a few minutes in between naps to update our blog. 

We're officially in the home stretch.  Only 11 more weeks to go!  I just can't believe we only have 11 more weeks to finish preparing for the arrival of our baby girl.  For those of you that know me well, you know I am not a procrastinator and love checking off a to do list quickly.  Well, I am starting to panic with the amount of things we have left on our to do list before the baby arrives!  As usual, Deric and I have spread ourselves thin with projects, especially Deric, and there's just not enough time in the week to get it all done!  Deric has been working at a rapid fire pace to renovate our master bathroom, but because of this the nursery is still a big mess, currently a storage room for all of my music therapy stuff.  I really just want to get in there myself and lug all of my things to the basement and get the room painted; however, I know full well that I can't lift all of that stuff, shouldn't be painting, and I just don't even remotely have the energy for it.  So, I just have to sit patiently and wait on my sweet husband.  I still have a few more things to sew for the nursery to, but again I need Deric's engineering brain to help with some of the measurements since I'm not using a pattern.  So again I wait. Poor Deric, he's in high demand.

Somehow over the last few weeks we've managed to fit a Northside tour in and a childbirth preparation class this past weekend.  I started to feel under the weather Saturday when we headed to our class so I wasn't quite as excited about it as I had been but none the less we had a great time and learned a ton of information.  I had no idea, there were so many different positions and things to do to help with labor pains.  I also had no idea that there were other pain relief options besides an epidural.  We left the class feeling far more informed than before.  Going into the class, we had planned on an epidural delivery.  Most of our friends that have had babies have had epidurals and at one of my first doctor's appointments they just asked if I wanted one or not, without much explanation of other options, so I of course said that I wanted one.  Well after hearing about side effects of an epidural and other pain options if needed, I think we've decided to attempt to go the natural route.  I've gotten a lot of feedback on classes we should take, what we need to do such as switching to a midwife, hiring a doula etc.  Honestly, it's been a bit overwhelming looking at all the options now with a natural childbirth.  After praying about everything, Deric and I feel a peace about staying with our current doctor, reading a book on the Bradley Method and Hypnobirthing and even possibly a book on Lamaze and giving it a go with just those resources.  We just don't have the budget to spend on any more classes and I think switching practices at this point and trying to add another person to the equation would really stress me out more than I need.  We'll just see what happens and if I end up needing an epidural because the pain is unbearable so be it but we're going to give it our best shot to try the natural way first.

We're having record high pollen levels here in Atlanta.  I thought that's what was causing my coughing and congestion over the weekend but yesterday and today, I woke up without a voice and some body aches.  We're hoping the rain that's coming tonight and tomorrow will wash this pollen away and I'm hoping that by the weekend, I'll start to feel like myself again.  I'll try to post some more pics of the growing belly soon when I'm feeling a little better. 

27 weeks!

27 weeks

27 weeks



This Wednesday marked 27 weeks in our pregnancy.  I can't believe we only have 13 more to go.  I had a big doctor's appointment on Friday.  I had my one hour glucose screening, the first step in checking for gestational diabetes, which I passed with flying colors!  As usual, I was worrying about failing the test since I started seeing floaters at various points in my vision this week and last week and seemed more thirsty.  My Mom had gestational diabetes with me, so everything online you read says that I was at a higher risk for getting it but thankfully I don't and I can still enjoy an ice cream sandwich every once in a while!  I'm RH negative, because I have O negative blood and Deric has a positive blood type so there's a chance that our baby girl might have a positive blood type.  So...I had to get a fun shot in my backside to help prevent any antibodies from building up in my body that could potentially pose a risk to a future pregnancy.  Thankfully, I had this shot previously and was prepared for it but it still wasn't fun.  I'm so thankful this shot exists though.  I also had more blood drawn to make sure that I haven't built up any antibodies since they last checked.  By the time my appointment was over, I was exhausted and starving!  Deric so wonderfully volunteered to take the morning off work and came with me to the appointment and then treated me to a wonderful breakfast at J. Christopher's.  It was a relief to hear that everything was going well and that I was right on track with my weight gain, blood pressure, measurements, etc. 

Deric has been working hard to renovate our master bathroom.  This is our last big house project that we planned to have completed before the baby arrives.  So far, Deric has been making fast progress and already has two walls of the shower tiled and will finish the other one soon.  Hopefully he'll be finished in a few weeks and we can start on the nursery.  I've completed sewing the curtains and quilt but still have the crib skirt and throw pillows left to sew along with covering a lampshade in the same fabric. 

In our spare time:), we managed to take the Northside Hospital tour this week.  I must say it was fun but a bit overwhelming.  I was fine until we went into a labor and delivery room.  The reality of everything hit me like a ton of bricks when the guide started to explain how things would happen in the room.  Deric was pretty nervous too and didn't say much at all.  Of course we were the only ones on the tour with 3 months left before we deliver so I felt kind of silly being there so early yet relieved that it's one thing that's checked off the list.  We even met a nice couple that uses the same practice and doctor that we do so that was neat.  Next week we are taking the childbirth class which I'm sure will be equally as fun and equally as overwhelming.   I can't believe we'll be in our third trimester on Wednesday.  Time sure is flying by!

~Ashley