Bristol's Birth Day : Part 1

(Bristol Elaine Barron)

I am finally getting to sit down and document the most amazing day of my life, the birth of Bristol Elaine. What a day it was, what a day it was.

First I am going to share a little of what was going on the few days before I had Bristol.

Brandon's friend Andrew and his girlfriend came into town from Philly to visit for the week. They were really hoping that I would go into labor while they were here, but I was convinced at this point that that was not going to happen. So they arrived here Saturday August 13. We went and got mexican food for dinner and then went bowling. I thought, I will just "bowl" Bristol right out of me, haha. I was suprised to see how well I actually did at bowling 9 months pregnant. Needless to say, I had a lot of stares that night. The people who had the lane next to us kept staring at me. At this point, I was so over people staring at me and so I was really annoyed. She finally came up to me and said " how far along are you?" I told her 9 months pregnant and she couldn't believe I was out and about 9 months pregnant. I was on a mission... remember? To bowl Bristol right out of me, haha.

(Bristol's first bath)

So after NOT bowling Bristol out of me, I was convinced she was going to come late. Sunday rolls around and we just laid low all day. I haven't been going to church due to lack of sleep, VERY uncomfortable and just down right feeling icky.
Brandon was upstairs in his "man cave" playing a video game ( which by the way, NEVER HAPPENS, he never plays video games but he said he was bored, haha). I was downstairs laying on the couch with my pups watching TV, nothing new there. I eventually got up from the couch because I had to go to the bathroom, like BAD. Which once again, nothing new there.
(Sidenote - sorry if this is too graphic or TMI, but I want to document everything that happened, kthanks!)
As I am sitting on the "potty" I hear a "KERPLUNK" Immediately, I looked down in the toliet and saw blood. My first instincts were .... " I LOST MY MUCUS PLUG!!" Losing your plug is an indicator that labor will be coming soon, hours or days, depends on the person. I then, yelled out to Brandon and told him I lost my plug. I called my mom and dad. Which by the way, my dad was on his way to the airport for a VERY IMPORTANT 1 day trip to Florida for business. But I called him anyway and told him what happened. He told me to keep him updated, he still had some time before he boarded the plane and if anything were to happen, he would come right home.

(Our family of three, sharing a very special moment together, beyond blessed.)

Soon after going to the bathroom, I had to go again, umm... nothing new there either. Well, I noticed that I was still bleeding from the plug, but it was more than what you would expect. I started to get a little worried because I had researched several different things that could happen. Also, your doctor always says, "call if you start to bleed". Well, hello! I've never been pregnant before so I wasn't sure if this was normal. After that, I call the Dr. on call at my hospital and he proceeds to tell me its nothing but if I am worried to come up to L&D. Hmm... I was so confused. He said it wasn't anything but if I am worried then to come, didn't make sense to me. So I relay the info to Brandon and my parents, specifically my dad because of his trip he was going to go on.

(Granddaddy and his little girl)

Brandon's parents were out of town too, moving my sister-in-law into her new apartment for college. Brandon called them to let them know the situation too, but they couldn't leave even if they wanted too because they hadn't moved Whitney into her apartment yet. So basically, everyone was on stand-by and waiting to hear if anything changed. Brandon and I said if the bleeding continues, by 6pm Sunday we would go to the hospital. Well, I went to check again in the bathroom and there was more blood, enough to make me freak out a little. Luckily, my bags have been packed for WEEKS so I told Brandon we need to go now and I'm worried. So let the dogs out to go potty, Brandon loaded the truck, and off we went to the hospital. At this time, we couldn't get a hold of my mom. Her phone was turned off, which she says she didn't know it was. I call my dad, tell him the news. Guess what? He was WALKING TO his gate to board the plane. God's timing is so perfect and my dad turned right back around, changed his flight for Monday morning at 8am, talked to the airline company and got his bags back before they were loaded on the plane. Once again, God's timing is perfect. My dad would have been DEVASTATED if he missed the birth of Bristol. Back to my mom. Her phone was off so she had NO CLUE what was going on. My dad got a hold of my brother and told him to drive to their house and get her. So he did. I asked my brother what he told my mom and this is what he said " I walked into the front door, walked to the fridge, grabbed an apple and told mom, KELLIANNE IS HAVING THE BABY!" I laughed so hard.... of course, my mom started to freak out. Then called my dad and he filled her in.

(Daddy with our 1 day old baby girl)

We arrive at the hospital around 5:00pm Sunday, check into a triage room and get checked by a nurse. I was 1-2 centimeters dilated, which I have been for weeks now. She reconfirmed that the blood was from the mucus plug and that I didn't need to worry. By this time, my mom got to the hospital first, then my brother came. Dad was about 5 mins away from the hospital. It all came out to be a false alarm, the nurse wasn't worried at all. She said Bristol looked great and just to "wait it out". Of course I would have to wait it out, ugh! Since my family was at the hospital, we all decided to go out to eat, haha. Did you expect me to say that? Yes, I was feeling fine, they discharged me and we went to eat a family dinner at Cheesecake Factory. I was still slightly bleeding and very uncomfortable, but I WILL NOT TURN DOWN a meal at CF. We ate at about 6:30-7:00pm and we all went on our merry little ways. Brandon and I kept out hospital stuff in the truck in case something would happen in the next few days.

We got home from CF and settled down for the night, not thinking anything of what just happened earlier. I took a warm bath and then took a hot shower. At about 10:45 is when I started to feel period like cramps in my lower stomach. I wasn't sure if these were contractions or not but I told Brandon that I had these pains. He said to monitor them, which I did. He went to lay in bed and I stayed on the couch because I wasn't tired. After having about 2-3 more contractions I went and told Brandon. He immediately popped up and said are you ok? Of course I was OK, but I was just confused because I wasn't sure if these were actual contractions, I mean, I've never been pregnant before so I don't know what real contractions felt like. I got into bed and that's when we started charting the contractions. They went from 20 mins apart to 15, to 10, to 5 to 3 .... talk about FAST. I had Brandon rubbing my back through each contraction. I'm going to be honest, they just felt like bad period cramps, which I am very familiar with. They last about 20-30 seconds a piece so I wasn't in too much pain. Brandon then called his parents to let him know I was contracting and called my mom. By the way, it was about 1:00am at this point.

( Daddy and Granddaddy both wore pink to celebrate Bristol)

At this point, Brandon and I both decided that we needed to head to the hospital, but first, Brandon called the hospital to tell them we were coming. Did I mention that my Dr. had been out of town for 2 weeks and JUST got back on the 13th? The Dr. I spoke to earlier in the day was on call for Dr. Starr ( my dr. ). The hospital told him that the Dr. would be calling him back in a few minutes. I was expecting the on call Dr. to call, but it was MY Dr. who called him back.
Brandon told Dr. Starr the situation and she said to come in. Off to the hospital we went. Well, first, we took the dogs out to go potty, grabbed a few last minute things and then hopped in the car and drove to the hospital. At this point, we still didn't know if they were going to admit me, but the contractions were getting worse, not too bad, but definitely intensifying.

Ok - so that's it for now. This post has taken me over a week to write and I finally got the first part written, goodness!

I'll write the 2nd part soon :)

By the way, if you are reading this last sentence, God Bless you! :)

one week early

For those of you who do not know already, Bristol Elaine has arrived! She entered this world Monday August 15, 2011 at 11:03am weighing 7.5lbs and 19.75 inches long. I was exactly one week early and I am still in shock that I have a baby, a beautiful one at that.

I will spare the details for now, because the birth story is a fun and exciting one and I want to have adequate time to share it with you.

So until then, here are a few pictures of our sweet precious Bristol Elaine.

Minutes old. I was quite drugged up from the epidural. Those things are amazing :)


Proud Daddy, he is so in love.

Not even a day old.

Precious little lady!

Coming home outfit!

There was a sneak peak :) I will post more pictures and the whole story at a later time.

just kick me!

Went to the Dr. Today. I'm 2 centimeters dilated. My Dr., well actually, she isn't my Dr., this is a fill in while mine has been on vacation for the past 2 weeks. Anyway, she said that everything looks good and I could have a baby in a week or so. I'll be 39 weeks on Monday. I was actually hooked up to one of those machines that track the heartbeat, contractions and movement. The reason why I was on the machine is because I really hadn't felt Bristol move this morning or last night. I was worried. She is a big time mover and shaker at night and I really didn't feel her move. I actually laid down in bed last night and said a little prayer to God " Dear Lord, please give Bristol the ability to move right now, even if it's just a little kick or nudge. I need the reassurance that she is still OK.

Sidenote: I've heard 2 stories in the last 2 days about babies dying. One at birth due to water on the brain and then the other at 8 months gestation. So my fear has definitely sky-rocketed since I heard about both stories.

So back to my story. I prayed to God and about 20 seconds later, I felt a kick. I then proceeded to ask God, ok, can she move a little more, even if it means her keepign me up all night? Well, I felt one more kick and that was it. So this morning the Dr. wanted to monitor Bristol, and that is what we did. I laid on the bed in the room, played on my room, pushed the button everytime I felt her move. Come to find out, at the same time I was having contractions. Painless ones, I'm sure Braxton Hicks, you know, he's my best friend.

So things are moving right along. Could be any day now. I'm just waiting for the first "real" contraction to hit. I'm sure I'll be grabbing the bags and saying " LET'S GO!" :)

As promised, here is a picture. It has no meaning to this post. Well, it has meaning because it's my mom and I but no relevance in regards to the subject of this post. This was taken May 22, 2011 on my parent's 35th wedding anniversary dinner at the best resturante ever, I mean Taste of Texas.

Love my momma.

upcoming events and other tidbits

It's almost the middle of August and there is so much on my mind. Of course, the impending birth of our daughter Bristol Elaine is top on the list. But there are other things that are of importance that will be taking place till the end of December. I'd love to share these events with you. So here goes....

August ____, 2011 - Birth of Bristol Elaine

August 22, 2011 - First Day of School for Brandon. He is teaching 5th grade this year!

September, 2011 - I will start my alternative teaching certification program!

September 4, 2011 - will mark 1 year of home ownership!

September 20, 2011 - Brandon and I's 3 year wedding anniversary

October, 2011 - I will be going back to school after taking a break. I have 4 classes left and I will officially be a college graduate. Wow, what a journey it has been.

December 16-24, 2011 - Schrock Family Vacation to Seattle and Leavenworth Washington! Ski slopes, here we come!

In other Barron news, I'm definitely in the nesting stage. Actually, I have gone in spurts with the nesting stage. As of today, I'm nesting. Ask me tomorrow and it will probably be a different story.

Bristol's nursery is ALL COMPLETE. What a sign of relief. I love ever inch of her room and can' wait for her to "see" it, haha.

I've been thinking lately, I'm going from a working wife, full time student to .... stay at home mom, housewife and EXTREME COUPONER. Yeah, that's right, I am turning into an extreme couponer and Brandon is in full support of my new career. haha

Since I'm considered a college senior, I get to start my program before I graduate, which is great. This will speed up the process of getting a job - for the next school year, of course.

The Schrock Family Vacations are the absolute best, hands down. We are all looking forward to sharing a week of laughter, smiles, jokes, memories and toting around Bristol Elaine.

Totally embracing the fact that I LOVE to save money when I shop. Rarely, do I EVER buy anything that is full price. If I do, it must be an amazing item because spending full price for something should be illegal. I love sales, coupons, discounts,etc. I will have 1 full year to master the art of saving a lot of money at the grocery store.

Here I am. The housewife and stay at home mom. I know I will love it. It will be an adjustment of course, since I have always worked. But I know that both roles are full time jobs and I am beyond blessed to get this opportunity to stay home with Bristol.

Ok readers, I am going to try and post a picture each post because quite frankly, blogs are boring without pictures. Well, most of the time. At least mine is boring without pictures, maybe all the time. The thing is, I hate blogger and how they upload pictures AND mostly all my pictures are on an external hardrive, which I don't feel like plugging that guy in and importing some back on my comp. So.... I will try my best to get you at least one photo per post. Can't promise the photo will be related to the post itself, but needless to say, there will be a photo.

Talk to you soon!

oooooooooooooo girl!

I'm slowing down and feel like an 88 year old woman. No offense to 88 year old women, love them, bless their hearts. But boy, I'm to the point where I can't be on my feet for very long.

I have a SERIOUS case of cabin fever. Like a seriously serious case of it. Here's my dilemma. And by the way, by no means do I want you to think I'm complaining. I'm just "talkin' it out" :) Back to the dilemma......

I feel good when I am at home. Well, not good, but if I start to feel bad I can just plop right on the couch or in my bed curled up with my precious pups and I will feel better within minutes. But guess what? I AM SO TIRED of laying around the house, doing NOTHING.There's only so much TLC " Baby Story, Making Room For Multiples and Baby's First Day" that I can watch. Now, on the other end of things, I want to go out and run errands and just get out, but within minutes of being in public I have to go pee 46 times, I start to have some serious pressure in my lower stomach and then I become miserable. This is all while trying to push the cart in the store while waddling and trying to look like I'm a happy 9 month pregnant woman. Dilemma? I'd say so. Well, to me it's a dilemma.

I'm so ready for Bristol to be here. I'll be 38 weeks on Monday. I haven't progressed any since I last updated ya'll with how far I have dilated and effaced. I'm hoping next week will bring a different story. She has been moving around A LOT at night. Loves my bladder, in fact, their best friends. I'm ready for the friendship to be over with, if you know what I mean. I have braxton hicks every night almost. They are painless but uncomfortable for the fact that they tighten my stomach and make it feel like it's going to POP.

Bristol's nursery is ALMOST complete. My mom and I are going to Target tomorrow to go buy her curtains and then her room is done. Well, Brandon has to hang them, of course. There have been times where I have LOVED her nursery and then times where I thought " what the heck was I thinking?" But after everything has been put together, hung on the walls, placed perfectly on the shelves, I LOVE HER ROOM. I can't wait to get the curtains.

I'm still feeling very calm about labor. I know that that might change in the midst of labor, but as of right now, God is totally being God and taking care of my emotions. I love him for that, amongst many other things.

I'm hoping the next post I make will have pictures. I need spice up the blog a bit and post some pics. I might do a post of pictures "pre-pregnancy" and then pictures of during pregnancy.

Until then my friends.....