Isaac Kalani

Wow... That is how I can describe the last week and half of my life... So much to write and yet I'm sitting down to type knowing that in 5 minutes I need to go feed my newborn baby... This post may take a while for me to actually finish but at least I am starting the process now! For starters we love our new little man, the spirit he has brought to our home is indescribable. Figuring out how to be parents is also indescribable.. he he. There has been a serious learning curve but I think we're finally on some sort of schedule and are starting to figure this whole thing out.

For those who are interested I will share the whole labor story, for those who would rather just see some pictures I'll post those too!

Labor:

December 2, 2011

5:42 am - I get a call from the hospital telling me they are ready for me to come down and start the induction process (since I was a week late I was scheduled to be induced this day)

I shower and finish all the last minute items needed to be packed, wake up Brian, he gets ready and then we head to the hospital.

6:40 am - Arrive at hospital

7:00 am - Get checked in and taken to my room, put on the awesome hospital gown which little did I know I would be wearing for the next few days (they gave me a fresh gown every now and then, which was nice...)

7:45 am - Nurse starts my IV and gets all of my info. talks me through what my doctor wants to do to start my labor and then she asks me if I have eaten anything, I say no cuz I was told not to eat anything cuz Pitocin makes you nauseous... Well we weren't going to start with Pitocin first, instead we were doing this pill Sidotek?? Something like that, to start me dilating. So I could eat breakfast, which was fabulous news because I was starving!!!

8:30 am - Eat breakfast

9ish am - Start Sidotek... I don’t want to go into details but its a pill that they put inside of me and its awful... So it takes 3 hours and every hour they "check" me to see how dilated I am. The goal is to get me to dilate to a 3 and then we could start Pitocin.

12pm - Still only dilated to a 1, more Sidatek.

3 pm - Still only dilated to a one... more Sidatek. (Do you see where this is going?)

6 pm - Still only a one, more Sidatek, at this point I am feeling the contractions and it’s awful, I'm in a lot of pain but trying to wait for the epidural until after they start the Pitocin. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea, but at the time it seemed like one.

(Throughout this whole day, by the way, they are letting me eat, which I knew was a bad sign because women that are actually close to giving birth they make starve!!)

9 pm - Still dilated to a one... Doctor decided to come in and check out the situation. He decides to inflate some saline filled balloon into my cervix to see if that would get me dilated to a three. At that same moment I decided it's time for the epidural because the contractions are awful and happening every 2-3 minutes. So before doctor inflates me with this crazy balloon I get the epidural. Then doctor does his business with the balloon and ten minutes later I was dilated to a 3!! Hallelujah!!

10:30 pm - We start the lowest dosage of Pitocin.

10:40 pm - My body rejects the Pitocin and I start to have huge contractions and the babies heart rate was going very low and then very high... They immediately stop the Pitocin and give me a shot of something that would stop the contractions and hopefully level out baby’s heart rate. That works for the time.

December 3, 2011

12:00 am - They give me another shot to stop the contractions, I'm running a fever and babies heart rate is starting to look better.

12:15 am - 6:40 am is all a blur, lots of checking and my doctor decided to just wait and see what the baby would do without Pitocin or anything for that matter.

Amazingly enough at 6:40 am my water broke! All on its own! (Which I guess was great timing cuz the nurse told me she had left to call the doctor to have him come and break my water) I was dilated to just under a 5 at that point and the baby boy was coming all on his own! (Such a good boy)

Then everything started moving a little faster.

In just a couple of hours I went from being dilated to a 5 to a 10!! By 10:45 am I was pushing.

45 minutes later we heard our baby boy cry for the first time.

11:33 am- December 3, 2011 Isaac Kalani Congelliere was born 7lbs 2oz, 20 1/2inches long

-Side Bar-

I had a little joke going with the nurses, while I was pushing (in between contractions). I had mentioned I hadn't had soda for these past 10 months, which for me wasn't that big of a deal because I am not a huge soda drinker anyway, but they couldn't believe it. I told them that I was motivated to push this baby out so that I could have a Diet Dr. Pepper (if I'm going to have soda this is my favorite choice.) Literally seconds after Isaac was born one of the nurses came in with a huge cup of Diet Dr. Pepper! Awesome. I couldn't believe it and thought it was really funny. And I happened to be very thirsty too!

Sadly, right after Isaac was born he had to be rushed to the NICU because his breathing was labored. I did not get to hold him or anything. The nurse brought him over and let me kiss him a few times and that was it. After being in the NICU several hours and monitoring his breathing the doctor decided to do an X-ray to determine what was causing the struggle. He had a huge air pocket up in his rib cage. So they did a procedure where they stick a little needle into his side to basically pop the air bubble. I didn’t watch but Brian did. That procedure went really well. They continued to monitor him into the late late evening… And by 11 pm (alomst 12 hours after being born) he could be discharged from the NICU. It was very scary for a while but we had lots of prayers and tons of faith. We were very happy and blessed that he didn’t have to stay in the NICU over night. Our little man is a fighter!

We are so blessed to have this sweet spirit in our lives and we love him so much. My appreciation for my husband has grown so much too. He sacrifices so much to be able to help out and be around. He doesn’t want to miss a moment of Isaac’s life!

The End is Near!

Went to the doctor today... He did all the measuring of the water around the baby, his heartbeat, and my contractions. Apparently I was having contractions and I didn't even know it, pretty consistent ones too! So he told us the baby will come within the next 48 hours if not on his own then by being induced. So now I have an appointment to go to the hospital this friday and get induced! I'm hoping he comes on his own before then... But if he doesn't at least there is a light at the end of this very loooong tunnel!!! Friday will be the big day and I am very nervous and freaking out, so hopefully with a lot of prayer I can get through this!!!!!!! Keep us in your prayers.

Due Date...

I love how due dates come...and go... Today was my due date, this baby is cooked and ready to burst, but does he want to make an appearance? no. Ok, do I sound bitter??? (Sorry)

I know that only 5% of ladies actually deliver on their due date, but when DOC has been telling me since 37 weeks along that the baby could come any day you can't blame me for crossing my fingers that at least by now that little guy would be in my arms and not constantly pressing on my pubic bone...

We went to the Doc last wednesday and he basically gave me the heads up that I'll probably go passed my due date and end up needing to be induced. Can I truly be surprised? no. All three of my sisters combined have had 20 children, and for all 20 of them they had to be induced every single time... They all went passed 41 weeks. We're not talkin' just for their firsts, we're talkin' every baby they have had. Hence, I'm not totally surprised that this little man is just hanging out in my belly having a merry ol' time.

At least the light at the end of this very long tunnel is I know I'll be induced at the end of next week and I'll be snuggling my little man. I will keep my spirits high and continue to be grateful for the sleep I am getting and for the me time I am getting.

Baby Updates

Went to the doctor yesterday.... Brian and I were both a little nervous for this appointment because two weeks ago, at my last appointment, baby boy hadn't grown (or so we thought) So this time DOC came in and did a thorough measure and I had grown 3-4 cm!!! And he thought the reason I was measuring small is becuase baby had dropped. So he started to feel around... not fun pressure at all by the way... and sure enough he felt a big ball in my pelvic region! Then we started praying that it was his head and not his little bum bum! I really really didn't want this baby to be breached! I am hoping not to have to have a C-section. So we go to the next room and get an ultrasound and sure enough its baby boys head :) Phew! He's already such a good boy! With that peace of mind I can now wait happily until I go into labor... at least for now... I have a gut feeling this boy is going to hang out in my belly for as long as he can...

After the doctors appointment we came home and started getting a little more ready... Seperate of eachother Brian and I had both thought we should probably pack for the hospital, so when he told me that he was thinking we should pack and I had thought that too... we knew it was time. So we got the part of the car seat in the car and packed our hospital bags... Which by the way, I don't know how in the world I am supposed to pre-pack before the baby is actually coming because I need all the things I am "supposed" to pack, anyone had an solutions to this problem?

Anyway we are super excited and anctiously await our little buddy!

Answered Prayers

So I know I'm the worst blogger ever and I'm going to attempt to repent and renew my drive to blog! Life has been stressful, busy, fun, exciting, exhausting, prayerful... You name it Brian and I have gone through it. Here's the skinny, when you go to law school there are a few different things you have to take care of long before you graduate. So you work your booty off in your first year, get good grades, get on Law Review, and secure a summer externship. Check. Brian accomplished all of those things and we're thrilled the first year is done. After your summer externship is when you start applying for the following summers internship. Check. Brian really worked hard and was blessed with several interviews and call backs and we trully have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives. Well, to make a long story short Brian has always wanted to work with one particular firm down in Los Angeles since he started law school. He had an oppurtunity to interview with them back in August (we were thrilled). And then the process starts... he interviewed, then it took a couple weeks to hear back from them, and then we got the call that they wanted to do second round interviews-which is a call back. Which means for half of a day he goes to the firm and meets with 16 or so associates and partners. We were stoked! He thought it went really well and he knew he was as prepared as he could be. Then we waited another couple of weeks (which is where the stress and praying really comes into play). He got THE CALL yesterday afternoon! The hiring partner who called Brian prefaced the conversation by saying they were only taking on ONE summer intern, (which basically means your odds are slim... or so we thought) He ended up extending an offer to Brian to come work with them in L.A. next summer!!! Not only is it awesome because Brian get's to work at the firm he has always wanted to but this will turn into his job after law school and best of all its HOME, in CALIFORNIA :)

We have been so watched over and blessed through this entire process, all of our blood, sweat, and tears were totally worth it! Brian has worked so hard and he deserves everything he could ever want and I'm so grateful that he is being so watched over and blessed.

Boy or Girl???

Wow, nobody tells you how scary the ultra sound is!! They check like a million different types of problems that could go wrong with your unborn child its crazy!! Brian and I were sweating just listening to the doctor move around from body part to body part checking for anything and everything that could be wrong!!! We are very blessed and very grateful that our little guy is healthy and strong!! O and yes, we are having a little boy :)

It is amazing the connection I feel to this new little human already. It is like a flip switched or something and I just feel like I know him so much more than I did pre-ultrasound. I'm loving this entire experience so much, being pregnant, I love feeling him move around a constant reminder that he is there and he can hear me.

We can't wait until NOVEMBER!! So hurry it up baby boy!! We love you so much already!!!

Harry Potter 7 part 2!!

Late Friday night I bought my Harry Potter 7 part 2 movie tickets for the midnight show!!! A big group of us are going and so so so excited!!!! We have amazing seats and are seeing it at 11:59 pm!!!! It's definitely bitter sweet... the end of the funnest ten years of books and movies ever!!! I may be way nerdy for being this excited about a movie... But I am one stoked nerd!!!

Does this mean what I think it means...?

Yikes!!! My eggo is PREGO!! These past few weeks have been a whirl-wind of emotion! Brian and I started actually "trying" to have a baby in August but complications prevented that from happening. 7 months later I am told that I am not even ovulating and I was getting ready to take all kinds of tests and what have you. And I had completely changed my mind-set from ready to have kids to focusing hard core on my academic future since that is what seemed like the plan would be. Well... month 8... as you can see the Lord definitely has a plan for us!
We are thrilled! I am scared, overwhelmed, excited, nervous, happy... you name it, I have felt it!
Brian cannot even speak he is so excited!! He's wanted this for quite some time and has been so patient!

Due: November, 26 2011

My New Business

I guess I am starting to grow up or something because I've decided to take on the task of a "mini-business." It all started when I made a Cheesecake and brought it over to my brother Aaron's house. Rachel, his wife, was astonished at how good it was and the conversation went something like, "Anne, you need to make Cheesecakes for people and cater parties..." and from there it went something like, "Anne you need to make dinner for people, so that all the time you put into making dinner every night pays off! Apart from Brian reaping all of the benefits!" So there you have it. I now make dinner for people, mostly students who have no time to cook for themselves, but still want something healthy and fresh instead of fast-food (which can get expensive and not to mention really unhealthy!). We're in the ground stages but I already have some loyal customers.

How it Works:
Go to my blog, mydinnertogo.blogspot.com, look at the weekly menu, click on the food items listed and a short description will pop up of what I am making in detail. Decide if anything looks good to you. If it does, email me at mydinnertogo@gmail.com and let me know how many servings you would like and for which night. I typically serve 4-6 people per night for $5 a serving. Each meal includes a main entree, a side salad or veggie, and fresh homemade bread of some sort. Once a night is full I'll post it on the calendar so you don't get your hopes up about a certain meal only to find out later that it was already booked!
If this sounds like fun to you and you want to give it a whirl email me! If not, tell your friends! I'd love the business! It's incredible what word of mouth can do!