Gabriel Sebastian Pabst

Born 4-22-09 at 2:39am. 8 lbs, 9 oz and 21.5 in. long.

As you know, my water broke at 9:40pm. I called my Dr. and she said to try to rest, eat something, and I could stay at home until I got really uncomfortable if I could still feel Gabe moving. She said if there were no contractions by 2 or 3am to go to the hospital for extra help (pitocin, rupturing the rest of the membranes). Well, contractions started at 10pm, and they were 5 min. apart immediately and uncomfortable. That's when my Dr. originally said to go to the hospital, so Rach came over to stay with Stella, and my mom headed to the hospital with us. I checked in at 11:15pm. I was at 5cm when checked.

My contractions were getting closer together and more intense quickly, but I was going to wait it out until they became more unbearable. We had a thousand lbs of paper work to do, and my nurse asked if I wanted to stop and get things going for an epidural. I thought I could wait until she was done. Well, I had no idea that things would advance so quickly. My contractions were getting less and less bearable, and my nurse could tell, so she stopped and hooked up my IV. I had to become so hydrated before an epidural could be adinistered. Then, she had to call the anesthesiologist who was at home. At that pt, I was getting nauseous from pain and dying for an epidural. Finally he got there, and there was little break in my contractions as I tried to remain still and calm. It wasn't like last time at all. It slowly partially numbed my lower half from toes upward and from left to right. My right groin was not numb for a long time, so I could still feel the contractions in that exact spot. He said as Gabe went downward, that would be less painful. He also clarified that an epidural is meant to take away the sharp pain but leave you able to feel the pressure in order to effectively push. I could still totally move my legs, wiggle my toes, and for SURE feel the pressure. Holy cow. I did vomit several times at that pt. Well, then I was checked, and I was already at 10cm and +2. At my hospital they have no stipulations as to when you can get your epidural, but most doctors won't do it from 8-10cm. So, had I known I was ready to push, maybe I wouldn't have gotten one, but I was so glad to have relief. Gabe came out in 1 push. I just began my first push, and my doctor freaks out like last time and says, "Stop pushing." She didn't even have all of her clothes on for delivery. We were all laughing. Then she just eased him out slowly so that I wouldn't tear. So, there were no tears and no episiotomy - yeah!

I got to snuggle him and nurse him for a long time right away until I asked to find out his measurements out of curiosity. We were so surprised that he was so big and long, especially compared to Stella. But, it has already been a blessing. He is doing excellently with nursing and so far is sleeping and very calm and happy. At this pt, I think he looks like me and my sister, Renee, but with bits and pieces of Joel and Stella. We'll see. He'll change a lot in the near future. So, yesterday and today were very eventful for our family. We praise God for his blessings and protection of all of us. Thanks for your prayers, thoughts, calls, and notes.

Il vient (He's coming)!

Just wanted you to know that my water broke at 9:40pm, and my contractions are 5 min. apart currently, so we're about to head to the hospital. My little sister will be spending the night with Stella and skipping school to watch her. My dad has to be in Appleton tomorrow, so he can't watch Stella all day. My mom's coming with us. It's kind of like a 2 for 1 for Joel, even though Gabe won't be here until tomorrow technically. We'll let you know when he gets here!

Nouvelles fantastiques (Fantastic News)!

Joel got a call today from an SF HR rep that he had previously talked to regarding other interviews/jobs. They played phone tag, and he was able to get in touch with her this afternoon. She offered him the ISS (Internal Sales Support) job he interviewed for 4/3. Around 300 people applied for these 6 jobs. Here's the crazy part though - He's starting May 4 - yes, less than 2 wks away, and no, Gabe hasn't been born yet. So, we have much talking to do with my parents and Joel's parents. I guess we'll take down an initial load of necessities and leave a lot of our stuff here in WI and stay with Joel's parents until we can get into a house. My parents say there's no rush to get all of our stuff out. Adjusting to having a new baby is really the priority and taking care of our family, then comes finding somewhere to live. Why did God do it this way and cut things so close? We have no idea, but we are BEYOND thankful to have Him hear our pleas and bless us. I knew He wouldn't let us down. I just knew it. Thanks to all you wonderful family and friends who have prayed for us and encouraged us in this valley. We love you!

Rendez-vous (Appointment)

We're still here folks at 38 wks, 3 days. I had an appt. this afternoon that was encouraging. My Dr. and I both expressed that we were surprised I was there. Gabe's heartbeat was 128bmp. I'm dilated to 4cm and am 80% effaced. She said his head is way down there. She's really superstitious and won't ever make predictions, but she said we should be seeing each other very soon. I'm supposed to call her when my contractions are 5 min. apart. If my water breaks first, I can wait a little bit at home before going in if he's still active, but I still need to go in fairly early because of the risk of infection and issues that could arise with the cord. Also, I was negative for Strep-B. So, we're getting started on dinner and hoping to get some small things organized and last-minute things ready just in case. I hope to get a good night's sleep before something happens. We'll let you know.

Enceinte de 38 semaines (38 Weeks Pregnant)!

This is the post I never got to make with Stella. I'm kind of surprised to be making it now, especially when my body feels and looks so prepared to give birth. God has His reasons. Gabe has really plumped up. He weighs around 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). His brain and nervous system are working better every day. He has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

I've had more indications that labor could be near, or they could be purely coincidental. I've felt some nausea for a couple days, which isn't normal for me. Flu-like symptoms are common 24-48 hrs before labor begins. I've also totally been nesting. I've had crazy motivation to get everything tidy and clean. This, too, usually happens 24-48 hrs before labor starts. Also, since I stopped subbing, I've had hardly any noticeable swelling. Not much new to report - just waiting.

Fun fact: Only 5% of women deliver on their due dates.

Pâques et plus (Easter and More)

I would've posted much sooner, but I was going to just add a couple Easter pics to my 38 wks post later this week. However, I'm wondering whether I'll have Gabe before then. Easter weekend was really, really nice. We cooked and baked a ton, which we really enjoy. Thurs. night we baked some banana bread where Stella dumped all the ingredients in and of course was eating flour and such. Joel had a half-day Friday, so I was able to take a little nap before we went to the Good Friday service at our church. We grilled out for the first time, played outside, and had a delicious meal. Saturday we colored Easter eggs with a cool kit. Joel said he hadn't done that since he was 5 or younger. We did it every year, so it's important to me. Stella thought it was neat. While Stella napped, we got everyone's bags packed for when Gabe comes: mine, Joel's, Gabe's, and Stella's, so that is a weight off my shoulders. We were going to all go to the library, but it closed early, so instead we rented a movie. Stella got a free Strawberry Shortcake movie, and she is still saying, "Where Strawberry Shortcake go? Daddy take it away." We then went to my parents' house to check out the wildlife situation. Stella is obsessed with the geese that are always on their lake, but she gets equally excited about all of the seagulls, ducks, birds, and rabbits she sees. Then, we got icecream cones. Sunday we went to our church service at 9am. The worship was really good, and the invitation was amazing. People just kept coming up to the stage. Every time someone came, the whole audience clapped. I bet 50 people committed themselves to Christ. It was so touching. We then got ingredients to make biscuits and gravy and fruit salad for brunch. We had an Easter egg hunt, ate lunch, and later took a walk. It was just a great family weekend, and it was nice to have an intimate time with our 3 person, 1 dog, and 1 fish family before Gabe comes.

It has really felt like a waiting game since last Fri. (37 wks). I'm having more BH contractions and Gabe definitely dropped more. The past couple nights I haven't been sleeping well because I wake up to every sensation wondering if it's my water breaking or contractions starting. It's strange because I didn't experience this anticipation with Stella. Joel thought today would be the day, but I'm thinking he'll be wrong. It would be better for Gabe to wait until Friday (38 wks) so that my Dr. can be there, and he'll have more fat on him to make him control his body temperature and eat and sleep better. Things are just more uncomfortable all around with trying to be active and taking care of Stella. I wish I had none of these stupid lower back and groin pains and pressure. Maybe all subsequent pregnancies are just worse than the first. We'll let you all know if something happens. Otherwise, our next appt is Mon. 4/20 at 38 wks, 3 days.

Enceinte de 37 semaines (37 Weeks Pregnant)!

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY RACHEL MARIE! WE LOVE YOU!!

Friday marks 37 wks. Gabe will then be considered full-term. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard - click on the link to find the pic - who actually knows what that is? Annalea?). As fat continues to accumulate, his body is becoming rounder. So, if he arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though my due date is still three weeks away. His lungs, now filled with amniotic fluid, are ready to take his first breaths of air. His eyelids flutter open and shut preparing for his first view of Joel and me. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

I had my 36 wks, 5 days appt tonight. I measured at 35 cm (only .5 cm bigger than 2 wks ago), so Gabe isn't getting much bigger and/or is moving down. She said that's great and means he won't be big. His heartbeat was 128-130 bmp. She swabbed for Strep-B and checked me. I'm 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced. She felt his head and said he's down there, but still has some room to drop. Unfortunately, she'll be out of town until 4/17 (38 wks), so if I were to go before then, Gabe will be delivered by whoever's on call. She said I can call her on her cell starting 4/17, and she'll get back into town in time. She was laughing at how bad my swelling is and commented that she can see it in my face some. I still don't feel like I have that swollen pregnant face like many people get, but I definitely noticed (and hated) that my face was looking fuller. My blood pressure is still great, so there isn't anything to be concerned about. She said to lounge around as much as possible and not eat any ham for Easter:) My next appt is Mon. 4/20 if I make it that far.

I remember having swollen feet 1 time with Stella at Thanksgiving, probably from people's salty food. My swelling has been bad recently (for me anyway). Sunday night after getting home from IL, my legs looked like marshmallows, and I was exhausted from driving, not sleeping as well, etc...I've been subbing every day, all day this week, too, so I can't ever put my legs up or lay down on my side until Joel gets home, and even then, there's stuff to do for dinner/Stella/next day prep. I feel weird about just lounging. I hate appearing weak, physically or emotionally. I never want to be a stereotypically pregnant person acting tired, being swollen, waddling. While it's understandable and not very controllable, doing those things makes me feel weak, and doing what's necessary to help those things makes me feel lazy. I did more research on swelling, and as my Dr. said, the lower the baby, the worse it tends to be because the baby is putting more pressure on veins that go into the legs, making it more difficult for liquid to circulate.

Our weekend in IL was fast, but fun. It was great to see a few of my friends from high school, including my friend, Megan, who is due 1 day after me. She has the cutest preggo belly! We also did an Easter egg hunt at Joel's parents, which Stella thoroughly enjoyed. We ate lunch at my Gma and Gpa Phelps' and were able to see some more family. We haven't seen most of the extended fam since Christmas and may not see many of them until we move back to IL this summer. We are staying up north for Easter weekend. We're looking forward to coloring Easter eggs and doing another Easter egg hunt (2 things we ALWAYS did growing up) with Stell-Belle. I'm looking forward to our church service at the Capitol Civic Center. I think we may go out to eat somewhere, too. This will be our first holiday since getting together 10.5 yrs ago not spent with family. Although of course religiously Easter is super important, it isn't a huge ordeal with either of our families, so in that respect, we won't be sad to celebrate alone.

Joel keeps freaking out thinking that Gabe is going to come any day. He says that I'm an overachiever, and that's why (illogical, I know). Mainly, we just need to get the hospital bag packed, and I would still like to continue cleaning. We'll keep ya posted.

Enceinte de 36 semaines (36 Wks Pregnant)!

Holy cow. 36 wks really is getting close. I'm due in 1 month and there's 1 more wk until Gabe is full-term and safe to enter the world. Gabe is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. Recent fat deposits have rounded out his face, and his powerful sucking muscles are ready for action (let's hope!). He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. He swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

FYI: Average labor lasts 15 hrs for first-time moms and 8 hrs for subsequent pregnancies. With Stella, my water broke at 10:30pm, and I had her at 1:01pm. I didn't start feeling contractions until midnight, and I got an epidural around 6am. Granted, we let her drift to a +2, which is as far down as she could go, and the whole thing was still 14.5 hrs. Like I said, my Dr. said second labors are usually half as long as the first, so that would make mine 7.25 hrs. FYI part 2: My Dr. said that it was recently proven that being mobile during labor does NOT help progress labor any more than just lying in a bed. It does usually, however, help the mother deal with the pain.

We've been doing a bunch of stuff starting at the end of last week to prepare for Gabe, which makes me excited and feel more prepared. We painted his letters, took off and washed all the covers of Stella's old stuff (car seat, swing, papasan chair, boppy) - she plays with it with her babies, set up the pack n' play w/ bassinet that he'll be sleeping in in our room, brought up a dresser and put it in our room for Gabe's clothes (this is much more convenient than traipsing upstairs for his clothes), bought some more Swaddlers (man, they're tiny!), put car seat bases in the cars, printed off my hospital bag list, etc...That's a start at least. I'm getting sentimental now seeing his bed right next to mine every time I go into my bedroom. We're trying to get our house cleaned up and organized and maintain it, because the last thing we want is to have a dirty/messy house with a newborn. That will only add unneeded stress. Joel and my dad also picked up Stella's mattress/boxspring last weekend, which she has been sleeping on perfectly. She's only on the mattress on her floor for now. We also bought Stella a betta fish named Alpha. He is actually beautiful - blue/turquoise - as are his rocks. If only he would eat his food. We do have a 15-day guarantee on him, so if he commits suicide through starvation, we'll get another one.

I called Joel at work on April Fool's Day and said, "Hey - my water just broke." He was totally calm and believed me. Then I immediately told him I was just kidding because I didn't want him to get his hopes up. I subbed for high school French last Friday, Monday, and Tuesday and will do Monday-Thurs. next week. It went really well. I told the kids: Je suis pour le 2 mai, donc je ne vais pas avoir le bébé ici. Ne vous inquiétez pas! (I'm due May 2, so I'm not going to have the baby here. Don't worry!) They thought that was funny. I'm not planning to take any other jobs after next week because then I'll be 37 wks, and I'm not trying to have my water break during school, even though that only happens in 8% of term pregnancies before labor starts (Wow, I'm a rarity). No, really I want to enjoy the last bit with Stella before Gabe comes and be as rested and ready as possible. We'll actually be in IL this weekend for my friend's baby shower, which will be fun. Hopefully there's no "activity;" that would be bad. I'm still retaining water, no matter what I do. It helps some to lay down for a bit while Stella sleeps and then again at night, but when I'm subbing, I can't. My weight gain is no longer accurate as a result, but I feel ok about how I'm doing considering I work out around 4x/wk and burn over 2000 calories with that alone. I definitely dropped at the beginning of the week. Joel noticed right away, too. My belly button almost doesn't exist; Stella has even noticed that, and I can't see it when I look down because it moved down. I've been having more Braxton-Hick's contractions, too, some of which are pretty painful. I'm interested to see if I've progressed any at my next appt 4/8, although it really isn't indicative of when you'll have your baby, especially with second-time moms. Until then...