1 Week

Sean will be 1 wk old tomorrow! He is adjusting beautifully to life outside of his mommy and is so peaceful! I am so grateful to have a calm baby this time and it seems so easy after having a very VERY energetic boy the first time. I am happy to say I have been able to breastfeed exclusively for over 2 days now, which is a huge blessing! No bottles and it's free!! And I actually feel normal since I've been getting pretty decent sleep, something I never experienced until after a few months after Robert was born! I know there are sure be those difficult days too, but so far life as a mommy of 2 is wonderful! Little Robert seems to have really matured since his brother was born...it's as though he knows he has a responsibility and grew up over night! We still get a taste of his temper occasionally but he is doing incredibly well considering he has to share his mommy & daddy now!

Enjoying his swing...


Exploring his Baby Einstein gym...


Look at that blonde hair!!


In his bouncer, looking at all the colors and patterns...

First Pictures!

First breaths...





My wonderful doctor...Dr. Serrano

Excited big brother!!




First night home...

Sean is here!!

I couldn't wait to show off our new son Sean Steven Malby!! Although I was scheduled for an induction today, contractions started last night at 9pm. When we arrived for the "induction" at 6am, it wasn't long before he was ready to be born. He welcomed us at 9:51am this first day of spring March 20, 2009. He weighed 9lbs 4.4oz & 21.5in (Robert was 9lbs 4.5oz & 22in)! The labor went great and very fast after the epidural, of course! Little Robert is very excited to be a big brother and was in awe, just wanting to look at him and touch him. We're all doing well...Daddy and baby are sleeping, Robert's with family, and Mommy's updating you...now it's time for me to get some rest :)

P.S. My "scheduled" doctor (that I met for the first time yesterday) was tied up with a C-section so I was thrilled to see one of my favorite doctors, Dr. Serrano, walk in! I dilated so quickly that she had to deliver the baby. It was a wonderful surprise!!

1st Day of Spring...

...is tomorrow March 20th! And since I haven't gone into labor yet and if I don't by the end of today, then Sean will be born on the first day of Spring! My induction is scheduled for 6am tomorrow morning and while I was not wanting to be induced, I am keeping an open mind and hoping it goes smoothly.

I had my pre-induction appointment today and met the dr that will deliver my baby, unless he's not born before her "on call" duty is over. I had never met her before today as she's new to the group since Robert was born and works at the north office, but she seems nice. I was really hoping to have one of the doctors I've seen this pregnancy, but oh well.

Watch for pictures in the next couple days!! We'll have our laptop at the hospital and will have access to wireless internet. See you soon!!

The Details:
(No changes since last couple of appts)
Dilation: 3cm
Effacement: 50%
Station: -3

Still waiting....

This is a lengthy post, and just to let you know beforehand, everything's fine but these are my thoughts for today and the details of my appt...

I had my 40wk appt and bottom line is the baby's doing fine. The NST was "non-reactive," meaning the baby was not moving around much and probably just sleeping, so they decided to do a BPP (Biophysical profile), which is a very thorough sonogram just to make sure he's ok. He passed and scored an 8/8, and even though he still wasn't moving around much, he moved enough and everything looked fine. He actually was showing to weigh about 8lbs, so his growth slowed down quite a bit...which is great news for me b/c I was a little afraid of him getting too big! Looks like he just happened to have a growth spurt around the time I had the 34wk sonogram done, which is when my belly also measured large for dates. Lately, my belly's been measuring pretty normal, so that would explain the more average weight...it's all estimates though. As long as we're both healthy, that's all that matters!!

Anyway, they offered me an induction for tomorrow (!!) and I happily declined, knowing there are more risks with an induction and I'm just hoping a few more days will allow me to go into labor on my own. In that case, I am scheduled for an induction on Friday but on standby for Thursday in case a spot opens up at the hospital. If you know nothing about inductions, I am nervous about getting one for several reasons - 1) you are limited to laying in a bed, 2) the pitocin (artificial oxytocin - the contraction-stimulating hormone) can cause overreactive and very strong contractions making it more painful and/or more stressful for the baby which can lead to a c-section and 3) it's just not natural, and natural is always better. Of course, the benefits of induction would outweigh the risks the longer my pregnancy goes, so I am still open to it if I should really need it. So, please pray that baby Sean will arrive before Thursday!!

Oh, and the last reason I'm not ready for induction yet is because I conveniently pulled my lower back muscles on Saturday while playing with little Robert. We were playing "kickball" and I didn't think twice about jogging around with him for a few minutes (what was I thinking?? Oh yeah, I wasn't thinking)...of course, my back quickly tightened up and a second later I could barely walk. I have constant pain in my lower back, which varies throughout the day, but is at times almost unbearable and I succumb to Tylenol so I can rest or sleep. It actually feels like a constant moderate contraction (usually about a 5 on a scale from 1 to 10, so I am not happy about this). I made a joke that I probably won't be able to tell I'm in labor at first b/c I wouldn't be able to feel anything over the pain, and sure enough, when I was on the monitors today, I had a REAL contraction (not just a Braxton Hicks) and I didn't even know it. I felt the tightening in my upper abdomen but didn't realize the little bit of extra pain in my back was a real contraction. So this will make things interesting. I don't know what's going to happen once I'm in labor, especially at the pushing phase! I'm sure I'll end up with an epidural - something I was trying to avoid this time :( I actually woke up at 4am this morning with a lot of pain and I'm guessing I was having contractions b/c eventually (after 3 hrs of this) the pain eased up a little where I could sleep another hour.

Next post might have baby pictures so check back soon!!

The rest of the details:

Dilation: 3cm (still)
Effacement: 50%
Station: -3 (meaning he's still high up there and hasn't dropped)

Due date!

Well my due date has arrived....and we're still waiting! I was kinda thinking (or maybe just hoping) the baby would arrive a little earlier than today, especially since I've been 3cm for a couple weeks, but they all come on their own time. I even had some symptoms this past week that made me think that labor would start really soon, but nope...still waiting! Just wanted to let everyone know we haven't made our way to the hospital yet! I'll be induced sometime next week if he doesn't show up sooner. (The doctors know I previously had a big baby - 9lb 4.5oz) and don't want this one to get too big and cause complications.)

39 weeks

Well we're still waiting!! My appt went well and I'm "still 3cm, going on 4" the dr says. If I'm still pregnant by my next appt on Monday the 16th then I'll be having a sonogram and NST that day just to make sure the baby is still healthy in there and then possibly be induced. I really really really hope I go into labor on my own though. I'm guessing it'll happen in the next few days but you never know...he may just be really comfortable in there for now. I'll write an update every couple days to let you know if I'm still home or at the hospital!


Look at that belly! And remember, I'm 5'8"!!

38 weeks

Quick update from my appointment this morning:

BP: 118/60 mmHg
Wt gain: another 2lbs since last wk
Effacement: Still 30%
And the drumroll please....
Dilation: 3cm!!!!

Dr says she highly doubts I'll make it to my due date on the 13th...I doubt it too. Could be any day now!