Sawyer Family Birth Plan

Some of you guys have asked me about this now that we're opting for a scheduled c-section delivery. Below is the birth plan Will and I have discussed with our doctor - who is fabulous by the way.

Birth Plan for the Sawyer Family

General Preferences:
1. I wish to have my husband, Dr. Will Sawyer, and my doula, Amy Chavez, present in the operating room.

Drugs & Anesthesia:
1. Please place the catheter after the spinal has been administered.
2. I request the administration of Dermamorph prior to the removal of the spinal.
3. Please do not administer any sedatives/anti-anxiety medications without the express permission of myself or my husband, Will.

Positioning:
1. I would prefer to have the arm without the IV be left free.

Birth
1. I would like to view the delivery of our son either by lowering the screen or positioning a mirror.
2. If my baby needs assistance in the delivery process, please use a vacuum versus forceps.
3. My husband, Will, would like to cut the cord within the sterile field. If possible, please allow the cord to stop pulsating before cutting.
4. Please allow me to hold the baby as soon as he is delivered before any bathing is started for skin-to-skin contact.
5. If the baby is moved to the nursery, my husband Will, should remain with the baby at all times and be present for any medical treatment and/or procedure, barring a medical emergency.
6. I wish to be reunited with the baby as soon as I am taken into recovery.

Newborn Care:
1. Please refrain from administering any eye medication for the baby until we are past the first few hours after birth.
2. We REFUSE the Hepatitis B vaccination at this time.
3. Please support my decision to breastfeed exclusively by not giving the baby supplements, including formula, glucose water, or plain water, without my consent, unless there is an urgent medical necessity.
4. Please do not give the baby a pacifier.
5. We would like the baby to room-in with us. Someone will be with me at all times to provide assistance. Please do not take our baby to the nursery without expressed permission.

5 Days and Counting...

Okay so it has been ages since my last post. We've been rather busy what with baby showers, other babies arriving, and just in general - life. Since the family came up in April we've had 3 more generous baby showers (the Church, my girls in Michigan, & the yogahOMe family) and the nursery is totally set-up and ready to go. We caved to temptation and ended up with a super comfortable rocker-recliner. I couldn't be more delighted with this purchase!

The dogs are experiencing a new reality too. A girlfriend gave me a baby noise CD to get them acclimated to baby sounds. It starts out really nice - sweet baby coos and laughs - until is climaxes in an all out temper tantrum rage. For the most part - they ignore it. The two of them are also spending more and more time outside. Zoe doesn't seem to mind so much as long as there is a patch of sun to lay in. Loki, however, believes it must be mealtime every time they get back in...this is highly annoying. For those of you who have seen her when she's getting fed - you understand what I mean.

And then getting to the real reason for the post...Baby Boy Sawyer is breech and has absolutely no desire to turn himself around and make a normal, typical entrance into the world (Will and I are not entirely surprised by this). So Monday morning, June 15th, we are having a c-section. Before finally agreeing to this, I put myself and the baby through the following (in no particular order):

1. Ice pack to his head while my hips were elevated over my head...apparently babies don't like they're heads to be cold and there is some belief that they will turn.
2. Chiropractic treatments.
3. Round ligament massage - and no this isn't a comforting relaxing massage...
4. Acupuncture - which I really thought was going to work. And if you are wondering, I did not have a body full of needles. I think the grand total was 9.
5. Walking, Walking Walking followed by a variation of child's pose.
6. Crawling on the floor for 15 minutes at a time - this was the dogs' favorite!
7. Inversions of any kind.
8. External Version - a medical procedure where the doctor and assistant literally try and force the baby to turn. It was at this point that I looked at Will and said, "Yeah, ok. Let's do the c-section." EV is NOT a fun thing to do.

Can you believe it!? In 5 days we will finally meet our baby boy that we've been waiting on for the last 9 months. And he will get a name at that time. For now, we're still keeping quiet.

Here are the newest pictures taken at 37 1/2 weeks of the baby. Getting to see the baby was the 1 benefit of the External Version. They think he's 8 lbs - which makes large babies officially a Sawyer gene trait. He also has hair:-) Here you'll see his sweet little baby foot and also his face - which I can only imagine is very very cute and not at all alien-like!

32 Weeks & Various Other Things

It's been a BIG couple of weeks around the Sawyer house!

The nursery has been repainted to be a bit more neutral - it's a little like the color of coffee-milk (many many thanks to Jen Holaday! Had she not done this task, Baby Boy was likely to have been stuck with very girly teal walls). AND the baby's furniture has come in and it's been assembled - it is beautiful. The only thing missing is something to rock him in, but now that the room is arranged we can figure that out too.

For your viewing pleasure:

Will took this year's huge exam, and is now busy doing research and preparing to be the Senior Resident next year. This is possibly his busiest time of year so we see each other at dinner and then he's upstairs working in the office. I, on the other hand, stay downstairs and watch way too much TV. In case you're wondering, things only get crazier for him right around the time Baby Boy is coming which is why we're expecting many many visitors throughout July and August:-)

I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks (it is a good thing I like Dr. Day - I see him more than my closest friends these days), and we've made some of our first big parenting decisions. And no - we still have no idea what this baby boy is going to be named. Even if we did, we wouldn't tell you:-)

We have hired a doula - Amy! If you're not sure what a doula is go to this site: http://www.dona.org/. Amy will be around to help make natural delivery a more likely option (I should be able to spend more time laboring at home vs. the hospital), and as a huge comfort to Will since he's going to be on-call, she is on-call for us beginning at 38-weeks and on. Apparently he had visions of being stuck in surgery and me being alone. I never had that particular nightmare, but now it's not a worry. We met with her last week, and for both of us, it was instant relief. Amy is very knowledgeable, came highly recommended, and we are lucky to have her! (For any of you out there thinking, 'Oh my! She's going to try and have this baby at her house!' FORGET ABOUT IT! We're definitely going to actually give birth at the hospital!!)

We've just about decided how to approach vaccinations. We are pro-vaccination, especially in our area with the high population of Amish families, there is at least 1 small outbreak of polio each summer in OH so the risk is way too high. Baby Boy will be getting all his shots (with the potential exclusion of 2 that we're on the fence about), but on a different schedule than the rapid fire process the CDC recommends. We are meeting with a pediatrician this week, and after that we'll know exactly what schedule we'll be using.

We also had our 1st baby shower! My lovely hostesses were Amber (Dayton - local) and Lindsey (Texas native). Mom and Nancie got to come too. It was a lot of fun. You can check out some pictures in the slide show.

Thanks for all your prayers and love!

27 Weeks & 4 Days

So we've officially entered the 3rd Trimester. It is hard to believe that June 21st is only 13 weeks away, but that is all we have left of this pregnancy journey! Will was able to go with me to the doctor's appointment today and hear the heart beat. His little heart is strong - 150 bpms.
We also talked a little bit about delivery (I know...I am a super-planner and like to think about my options!!!). I'm blessed to have Dr. Day as my ob. He is laid back, willing to answer any number of questions, and straight-forward. He is one of the few doctors in the area willing to perform the VBAC procedure (vaginal delivery after c-section). And Dr. Day is also open to considering working around Will's insane call schedule should everything look okay for an early delivery. It isn't something I'm set on, but getting an extra week with both Will and the babe is something we're considering.

The baby: he is becoming more and more active - especially early morning and right about the time I'd like to get some sleep. I suppose that's all part of the training for what's to come! He seems to exist only on the right side. Will got to feel him move for the 1st time a few weeks ago, and that was a great moment for us.

A good friend painted the babies room this week, and we'll start building the furniture and arranging the nursery soon! Things are really starting to get busy as we get ready for the Dayton shower at the end of April, a Michigan shower in early May, Will's tests and trips and general craziness this Spring.

It seems some of you out there are somewhat outraged that you haven't seen a picture of the belly yet so this slide show's for all of you!

It Will Be A Boy!

Imagine it! A Sawyer is having a boy. I was actually surprised a little bit. While I hadn't had any premonitions, all but 2 people had predicted a baby girl so I had basically convinced myself it must be a girl. Thanks for playing along and special thanks goes to sister Retha who guessed we were having a Turkey Neck!

It's a ....!

We had the 20-week ultrasound today. The tech didn't see anything to be concerned about, but Will wants our radiologist friend Stephanie to check it out. Stephanie, and husband Michael, go to our church and are expecting their first baby 2-weeks before us. Based on measurements I'm right on track for June 21st (Still a Summer Baby).

Will and I also know the sex of the baby. But do you know? Check out the pics and see if you can figure it out. If you guess right, maybe you'll have some say in the name - but no promises!

We'll let everyone know Friday so if you can't figure it out you won't have to wait too long. We also have a slideshow of the other pictures taken today.



Love, Will and Nat

Half Way There!

This week marks the half way point - I'm at 20 weeks and finally really starting to look pregnant. I have bought the elastic band pants, to my dismay, and much to my surprise I actually LOVE them. So much better than the rubber band around the tight pants I was wearing before. And I always have the stretchy yoga pants to fall back on when I run out of the good stuff.

My appointment last week with Dr. Day went well. Will got to go and meet him too. We heard the baby's heart beat - it was in the 150s. And that was pretty much it. All the blood work is coming back normal, and there doesn't seem to be much to worry about, which is good, because I can find plenty to worry about on my own.

I'm teaching more yoga again! It has been fun to see the people at yogahOMe again. And really, just good to be back in the yoga room. As far as me doing yoga - it is starting to become an obstacle course of trial and error. The belly is in the way for somethings, fine for others. I usually don't know until I'm already in the pose. And I am still standing on my head and going upside down. It is a quick remedy for headaches and the SI joint pain I've developed over the last week.
I am officially addicted to the large 4-pack of chewy Sweet Tarts. But other than that, nothing weird like pickles with peanut butter. For the most part, I believe the baby is going to be vegetarian. This could be bad for Will since it would be 2-1 in favor of NO MEAT! The smell, look, taste of meat of any kind turns my stomach.

We also made of first trip to Babys 'R Us this week. Um - overwhelming. I'll be going back with a girlfriend soon to help wade through all the choices and start registering for things. Now that I'm feeling good, the fun part of being pregnant is starting!