The wait is over. 

As of today, September 16, 2008, at 3:42 a.m., Trena and Frank’s lives and their families and friends’ lives were changed forever.  We now all have one more person to love, hold, take care of, and pray for: Mary Rene. 

Here’s a timeline after Trena got home from her doctor’s appointment on September 15th:

• 4:45 p.m. - Trena is walking with her mother-in-law to try to alleviate cramping.
• 5:30 p.m. - Trena begins having contractions five minutes apart.
• 6:30 p.m. - Because Trena is still having contractions five minutes apart, and has been having them continuously this way for the last hour, her and Frank head to the hospital.
• 7:00 p.m. - Trena and Frank arrive at the hospital.
• 9:15 p.m. - Dr. Gosser breaks Trena’s water to expedite labor.
• 10:00 p.m. - Trena decides to get an epidural.  After the first epidural is administered, Trena still feels pain on one side of her body.  A second epidural is administered, which works successfully.   
• 12:00 a.m. - It’s now September 16th.
• 2:25 a.m. - Trena starts pushing.
• 3:42 a.m. - Trena gives birth to Mary Rene, formerly known as “Baby P.”  She is healthy, beautiful, weighs 7 lbs. 9 oz., and is 20 ¼ inches long. 

 Welcome to the world Mary Rene. 

 Posted by:  Jenny K.

I’m back home but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Dr. Gosser said I am 2 centimeters dilated and my cervix is very soft.  He said I could easily be 4 centimeters or more by the end of the day.  He just isn’t sure.  When he checked to see if I was dilated he said my water sac was bulging which he thinks is because I was having a contraction while he was checking.  He said I am in the early stages of labor and this could turn into “real” labor today or might even take a day or two.  My problem is that the cramps are not consistent and they are not very intense yet.  He mentioned getting induced but I wanted labor to happen naturally (he agreed.)  I guess if we would have opted to be induced I would still be there.  Instead I’m at home just fighting through the occasional cramps.  I keep thinking about that bottle of Midol and how a pill would be so nice right now.  But hey, no pain no gain.

Today I have my 10th and hopefully last prenatal appointment.  That is, if I make it to the appointment.  I woke up at 5:37 a.m. with the feeling that I needed to puke.  I went to the bathroom and started getting cramping, among other things.  I had cramping on Friday and Saturday but these cramps were different.  These feel like menstrual cramps.  Gosh I haven’t had those in a long time.  When I used to get those I would take a Midol and all was good.  But of course I can’t do that now. 

This has been going on for two hours.  I think they are coming about every 20-22 minutes apart but it is hard to judge since I was sleeping during the first hour and a half.  But I find myself sitting here, tapping my toes, like I used to when I was on my period.  For some reason tapping my toes seemed to ease the cramps.

My appointment is in two hours.  I’m going to take a bubble bath for now to relax.  Say a prayer that I don’t come home from my appointment!

As of 5 p.m. today, I will be on maternity leave for 12 weeks!  I can hardly wait.  I actually got a pretty easy day today and I won’t be in the office until lunch time.  I originally planned to work up until labor started but the more I thought about it I decided to have sometime to myself.  I figured this will be the last time in my life that I will be alone (although Sophie will be with me.)  Next week Frank still has to work so I just plan on hanging out around the house, enjoying these last few days/weeks.  I just hope I’m not sitting at home for two or three weeks before the baby gets here!

We went to La Fuentes last night for dinner.  Apparently the food wasn’t spicy enough.  We’ll be trying other home remedies to start labor this weekend. 

I told Frank’s mom that there were three days I would like to have the baby (although any day will be acceptable!) and they are:

1. The 12th (our anniversary date)
2. The 16th (Feast day of St. Cornelius)
3. The 17th (date we started dating-but in Jan.)

For now, it looks like the 12th is out of the question.  But then again, it is only 7 a.m.  There is a lot of day left.

Weight: 161.5

Signs of pregnancy:  Braxton Hicks contractions are getting more regular.  They are not painful but just really uncomfortable.  I’ve been rubbing my uterus during these contractions and practicing my breathing techniques.  I have a feeling that the real thing is going to happen soon.  I don’t know how or why I have this feeling but I do.

Baby Development:  Baby P isn’t doing much growing but is working on building a layer of fat.  Hopefully not too much fat so he/she will fit easier through the birth canal! 

Thoughts:  I’m going to miss touching my belly and feeling the baby’s little hand.

Two weeks ago, Frank’s dear friend Jason took prego pictures of us at his studio.  It was a lot of fun and I’m glad we were able to capture this precious moment in our first pregnancy.  We decided not to frame any of the pictures but instead we will be using a few in the baby scrapbooks we got as shower gifts. 

It still seems surreal to look at the pictures and see my belly.  I can remember weeks (more like months) ago I wanted my bump to grow so bad.  And now, any day or week now, my bump will be going away.  A part of me is sad to see the bump go away because I’ve enjoyed being pregnant.  The bigger the belly the more I felt the baby move.  Some nights I would just sit and rub my belly all night, playing with the baby’s foot or hand.  Then the baby would make some drastic move and it would make me laugh.   

But soon that will all come to an end.  And then I will be holding the baby in my arms, actually touching the baby’s foot or hand and laughing when the baby coos and smiles.  I just still can’t believe it sometimes.  This pregnancy has been an amazing journey but has gone by so fast.  Before I know it the baby will be here and our lives will be changed forever.  I’m trying to savor these last days/weeks because I know that our lives will be completely different once the baby is here.  A different that I can’t even begin to imagine.  But a different that I am so eager to learn.

Saw Dr. Gosser yesterday and I am now a whole 1 1/2 centimeters dilated.  I didn’t think it was much but Dr. Gosser seemed really impressed.  He said it was good progress since my last visit.  He was able to feel the baby’s head which is a good thing because I was worried that the baby had rotated.  After doing my usual exam he went on to tell me what to do when I go into labor-a conversation we never had at that point.  I’ve been taking the classes so I had a good idea but it was nice to hear from him directly.  Now it feels like he thinks I am good to go. 

So the baby is still inside doing his/her thing.  I see Dr. Gosser again next Monday.  Pray for a big number!

Weight: 162

Signs of pregnancy:  Yesterday I walked about two miles and later that night my back ached so bad.  The exercise feels great but the after effects suck.  I’m more sore after a two mile walk then I was after running a half marathon.   

Baby Development:  Baby P is ready and we are eagerly awaiting his/her arrival!

Thoughts:  How much longer do I really have to go?

Bags packed and outlets covered

Car seat installed

Crib up (once we know the gender, we are going to write the baby’s name on the wall behind the crib)

Diaper bag filled and rocking chair ready to rock baby to sleep

Baby clothes and receiving blankets washed and put away in drawers.  Changing table ready (we still have a shelf to hang on this wall)

Bouncy swing assembled in front room (right next to the new entertainment center)

Sophie, still has her own couch, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her little baby brother/sister

I can’t find the article but a reporter once asked Senator Obama what he would do if one of his young daughters got pregnant.  Obama started off by saying that he hopes he has/is raising his daughters with good morals and ethics to make the right decisions.  However, if one of them did end up pregnant he wouldn’t want his daughter to be punished for the mistake she made.

That makes me think of a few things.

1. My mom.  She is so excited about her first grand baby.  Nearly every time I talk to her she will tell me something one of the ladies told her at work that would be helpful.  We talk about the baby all the time.  If you were at my baby shower, you saw how much work she put into the shower and all the gifts she gave my baby.  Those were only half the gifts.  She brought more to Frank’s family shower and she still has more at the house.  She has been waiting for a grand baby for quite sometime, I am sure.  If I had decided not to continue this pregnancy because I thought it was a mistake it would have broken my mom’s heart.  That’s something that I don’t ever want to do.
2. Two days ago I found out another one of my friends suffered a miscarriage.  Since I have been pregnant, I have had four friends get pregnant and three of them ended up miscarrying.  Three.  I can guarantee you that each one of them wanted that child with all their heart.  They pray that they will be pregnant again soon.  Each month that goes by that they are not pregnant is another reminder of their lose.  They would do anything to be “punished” with morning sickness and sleepless nights.
3. Frank and I got pregnant before he had started his new job.  He was out of work for six months.  It was a really hard six months for our marriage and our financial state.  I’m sure from the outside our marriage looked like a train wreck.  Frank easily could have gone out and gotten any old job to start making money but we decided that we wanted him to find a job that made him happy.  It took six months.  There were numerous people who made comments about our choice and didn’t understand why he wasn’t out working to help me out.  Those comments hurt but we ignored them and stayed focus on finding the perfect job.  When we found out he had a job offer we decided to start a family.  We were pregnant before he even started.  We didn’t even know if he would like the new job.  We didn’t even know if the company would treat him good.  We had no guarantees about his future.  It was a huge career move because he had never worked in a hospital; he only had banking experience.  But we made the choice to start a family and we praise God that it worked.  I’m sure some people might have thought we were making a “mistake” by getting pregnant before he started the job.  I’m sure some people thought we should have waited to make sure that it was going to work out for him.  But I am so thankful we did what we did.  This baby, who is doing the Hokey Pokey in my belly right now, is the best decision Frank and I ever made in our lives.  I don’t care what status our lives were in at the time we made that choice and in the end it all worked out.  We did a lot of praying and God has provided for us.  Frank loves his job and we have never been happier. 

Humans make mistakes but humans are not mistakes.  I believe that Everything Happens For a Reason.  The good, the bad, the ugly.  The mistakes we make are supposed to happen so we can learn from them and become better people.  I personally think I have grown from all the mistakes I have made in life.  I wouldn’t take back any of the mistakes I have made.  Ever.

So the word mistake sticks out in my head during this election.  I don’t think a person should erase the “mistakes” they have made.  Mistakes are apart of life.  And mistakes can fulfill your life in ways you can never imagine.