I'd say I'm a little behind, but with this sweet little boy snoozing in my lap, at least I have a good reason!  Harrison's birth story began the morning of Thursday, September 19.  Anthony came with me to my 41 week appointment, which included and ultrasound to check the fluid around the baby, a non-stress test to monitor his movement, and an appointment with one of my midwives.  To our surprise, my fluid was higher than normal - an afi of 22 when 12 is the expected number at 41 weeks.  We wondered what that meant for the size of the baby, since I'd been told all along that he felt small and my belly hadn't gotten any bigger past 38 weeks.  His movement was normal, and we were lucky to catch a glimpse of his profile.  We had wondered all along if he'd have chubby cheeks like his brother, and it looked like that was probably the case!  My midwives would have let me go to 42 weeks, at which point we would have needed to schedule a medical induction, and while I had desperately wanted the "I'm in labor!" moment, the timing seemed right to bring up elective induction.  If I had him that weekend, Anthony would have more time to adjust away from work, Papa could watch the kids (allowing Nana to be present at delivery), and I wouldn't have to spend Mary Ann and Marinda's visit in the hospital.  A time was set for the next morning!

(That bulbous mass in the center of the ultrasound is baby's cheek!)

The baby woke me up an hour before my alarm on Friday morning, and I enjoyed having that hour of peace with him to feel some of his last movements in utero.  The kids had spent the night at Nana and Papa's, and Nana snapped our last belly picture (41 weeks and 1 day - can't say I didn't give him time to bake!) before we made our way to the hospital.


(The rest of these photos were taken by our awesome birth photographer, Carolyn Spranger.)
It was a beautiful morning.  It's worth noting that all of our children have been born on gorgeous, cloudless days.


After we checked in, we were introduced to our labor and delivery nurse, Katherine, and learned that my midwife Martine would be delivering our baby.  I had joked all along that Martine was humorously laidback, and I wasn't sure how that would translate during labor, but I'm very thankful for her calm demeanor now!  We opted for my water to be broken as the first step of induction, hoping that would kickstart contractions and maybe I'd be able to avoid pitocin.  I was a 3 when Martine broke my water at 9:30, and she terrified me by telling me that baby had his hand up by his head and that she could feel fingers.  I was determined to go unmedicated with this birth, and the idea of pushing a head AND an arm out simultaneously was horrifying.  We walked the halls for four hours, and while contractions fell into a more regular pattern and got stronger, I was not in any pain.




I was checked again at 2:30 and had dilated one centimeter to a four, which bought me a few more hours to labor without pitocin.  We also learned that baby had moved his hand, which was a relief!  Papa brought Alaina to the hospital after lunch.  We continued to walk and use the labor ball to bring on contractions.


Papa retrieved Connor from school, and we all waited with baited breath for my next check.


The kids got a little rambunctious, so Nana and Papa took them to the cafeteria for an early dinner.  At my 4:30 check, I was sad to hear that I hadn't progressed any, and my midwife recommended that we start the lowest dose of pitocin.  I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle the pain on such a powerful drug, but my will remained steadfast.


Almost immediately after I was hooked up to the drip, my contractions became strong and painful.  Martine showed Anthony how and where to apply counterpressure to help me get through them.  I had to sway and vocalize through them while Anthony put his whole body into the counterpressure.  He said it was crazy how he could feel the baby moving through my back.


The kids came back up at this point and were very curious about the machine and tubes attached to me.  In this photo, I'm trying my best to hide my anxiety about an oncoming contraction.  I told Papa that it was time to take the kids home.
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My memory gets hazy here, as all of my energy was focused on just getting through this.  Martine asked if I wanted to labor in the tub, and I agreed.  The nurses couldn't get the wireless monitors to work at first, and those few minutes that I stood waiting were excruciatingly long.  I couldn't remain upright during contractions, so I had to use anything in my reach for support, including my nurse and the bathroom sink.  Finally, I was able to get in, and the buoyancy the water provided was a relief.  I had to keep moving through the pain, and Anthony diligently kept watch as I squeezed two of his fingers, and vocalized while trying to stay on top of my breathing.  I started to feel lots of pressure as baby descended, and urgently yelled that I had to push.  I heard Katherine tell Martine that I was feeling "pushy", then Katherine told me that I had to get out of the tub.  The thought that I couldn't have my natural birth hadn't crossed my mind, but the act of getting out of the tub seemed so insurmountable, I kept saying, "I can't do it!  I can't do it!".  Anthony and Katherine lifted me out of the tub, and I'm glad I have photos, because I was delirious from the pain.


I was checked again and was at an 8.  I had a few more hellacious contractions to get through before I could start pushing.


One of the coolest things about our delivery was that Anthony got to play an active role in our baby's birth.  What a treasure!  Once I was finally allowed to start pushing, Martine told Anthony to get ready; this baby is coming!


After a few pushes, I decided that I had had enough of that sensation, and made up my mind to just get him out.  The "ring of fire" that everyone talks about was not that bad compared to the feeling of what was behind it!  Martine told me to stop pushing since the baby had his cord wrapped around his neck, but thank goodness she was fast, because there was no stopping me!


At 7:09 P.M., Harrison Pierce was born into the hands of his Daddy!


It was such a relief to have this much-anticipated baby in my arms!


I was able to hold him and feed him for over an hour before I had to share him with the nurses, which I loved.












There was so much talk of him being small, then as my due date came and went, of him being too big.  When I had asked my midwife weeks before what she thought of what people said, she replied with, "I think people are dumb."  She was right, since he came out at the exact average baby weight!








I couldn't have asked for a better birth! I had fairly easy recoveries with my epidurals, so I can't say if this time was "better" or not, but I am glad I've been able to experience birth both ways.  Now that we've got three weeks as a family of five under our belts, things are beginning to run more smoothly, and it's been a joy to watch the newest little Dietrich grow and change each day!

Well, here I sit, still very pregnant.  The irony is not lost on me that I've spent the majority of this pregnancy worried about preterm labor, and I'm writing this at 39 weeks 2 days, making this my longest pregnancy yet!  Every evening before bed, I think, "Could tonight be the night?", then I wake up, only to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.  I'm trying to make the most of these days where my life is very predictable and "easy", especially the hours that both kids are in school and I have some time to myself, but some days are more difficult than others when you factor in the aches and pains of full term pregnancy.  Anthony laughed at me last night because the act of changing into my pajamas and putting my hair up left me out of breath!  This little boy is getting big, and for the first time in ANY of my pregnancies, I had a foot lodged in my ribs yesterday.  Man, that hurt, and the resulting "pop" when he pulled it back was even worse! When I got pregnant this time, I had already promised myself that I was going to go as natural as possible, so it was difficult to decline when I was offered a membrane strip or an induction on Thursday.  Castor oil isn't looking like the worst idea at this point...


This new school routine has been an interesting change for the kids.  Connor is more content since he's constantly doing something new.  Everyone told me that first grade would be a rough transition and that he would be exhausted.  He is tired by the end of the day, but I think school is right up his alley.  Alaina loves school, and sometimes I regret not enrolling her in full-day kindergarten, but even the four hours every day takes its toll on her.  By 8:30 last night, she was so tired that she was delirious.  This photo was taken at 7:30.  Even Connor is sleeping later in the mornings, despite an earlier bedtime.


Last weekend was Tour De Fat here in Fort Collins.  The biggest streets in the city are shut down for a costumed bike "race".  In terms of people-watching, move over, demolition derbies!  I didn't really want to go, because there's honestly not a whole lot I WANT to do these days, but I'm sure glad I did!  Nana, Papa, Anthony, and the kids rode, but next year, it's on with the costumes!








Here are a few of my favorite costumes:


Ron Burgundy from Anchorman


That's some dedication to a corn costume!


These old hippies cracked me up.  Since we were sitting right next to the live DJ, they got off of their bikes right here and had a dance party instead of riding.  When I grow up, I want to be an old hippie.


The Knight Bus from Harry Potter, complete with driver.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle on a tall bike


Awesom-o from a particularly funny episode of South Park.  Nevermind the fact that I can't look at this picture without feeling like this guy is trying to steal my soul with his freaky eyes.


Jellyfish


The Mario Kart gang




Computer geek costume


These old BFF's just singing with a banjo.


Whatever the heck this fridge is supposed to be doing.


The parade went on for hours, and I'm actually kind of glad that I got to watch and see all of the costumes instead of riding this year.


Our crew was near the end.


We've had record-breaking heat hear for the past two weeks and Connor was soaked in sweat by the time he got to sit down.


A few more awesome costumes...like this guy from Up.


Dedication!


I couldn't let everyone else have all of the fun, so I had a little dance party with the pregnant nun next to us.  I was hoping to shake the baby out, but to no avail.


...and now back to waiting!

It's official!  We have a first grader and a kindergartener!  Connor and Alaina were so excited for school that they woke up at 6 A.M. in anticipation.







We looked high and low for Alaina's school shoes this year.  We started off at Payless, where I refused to buy anything with characters on them and she didn't like my choices.  Then we went to Kohl's, where the selection was picked over and once again, we couldn't agree.  When she could tell that I was getting frustrated, she would say, "Actually, I think I really do like these shoes!", but the disappointment was written all over her face.  Since we only typically buy one pair of shoes and one pair of boots per school year, I had to make sure she loved them and that they matched most of her wardrobe.  We then visited Famous Footwear (too expensive and not enough colors on the styles she liked), Target and Walmart (poor selection and quality), Gymboree (not versatile enough), and finally, the Sketchers outlet.  The clouds parted and sunbeams shone down upon these shoes that matched all the criteria:  pink/purple, light up toes, glitter, and hearts, in our price range.  Hallelujah!




Pretty excited to show off her My Little Pony backpack!




Anthony couldn't have been more proud when Connor picked out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.







Our last family pic before baby?




Walking to the bus stop







Daddy having a hard time letting his baby girl go!




My biggest fear was that they'd be scared to get on the bus.  Luckily, they were more excited than anything, especially since they found their neighbor friend to sit by.




In my quiet time, I worked on my meal plan for the week and went grocery shopping in peace!  It was lovely!  When I picked up Alaina, she was excited to tell me everything they did that day, and when she got home, she told me that she just wanted to relax.  In the afternoon, we picked Connor up from the bus stop.  I thought he would be exhausted, but he had such a great day, he was still flying high on adrenaline!




We had a snack, then the kids played with Hailey (the neighbor) for about an hour.  Their true exhaustion hit during dinner, when they both just sat at the table and stared.  Connor asked to go take a bath and Alaina couldn't even hold out for that.  It was a big day and they were both excited to go again!